CCA Demands Emergency Protections and Fair Pathways Home as Dangerous Heat Wave Grips NY Prisons
NEW YORK - As a dangerous heat wave grips New York, advocates are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to take immediate action to protect incarcerated people from life-threatening temperatures inside state prisons.
With many prison cells and dormitories lacking air conditioning or adequate ventilation, advocates warn that extreme heat compounds the state’s ongoing crisis of neglect, illness, and death behind bars—and under score the urgent need for both emergency protections and fair pathways home for people incarcerated in New York’s prisons.
Reports from individuals currently incarcerated across the state detail a deepening, widespread crisis:
At Green Haven, incarcerated individuals report torturous humidity in living quarters, leaving those who cannot afford to purchase personal fans to suffer through dangerous, uncooled conditions.
At Woodbourne, incarcerated individuals report being denied evening recreation despite temperatures remaining in the high 80s and low 90s.
At Five Points, incarcerated individuals report widespread heat-related medical complications. Facility operations are severely disrupted, with rehabilitative programming largely shut down and the National Guard deployed to cover acute staff shortages. Further more, the continued use of solitary confinement exacerbates the heat risks.
Garrett Smith, State wide Organizer at Center for Community Alternatives (CCA), released the following statement:
“During this dangerous heat wave, New York’s leaders must not ignore incarcerated people or the crisis behind bars. Extreme heat in poorly ventilated prisons is not an inconvenience—it is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition, especially for older people and those with underlying health needs. DOCCS must immediately ensure that every incarcerated person has consistent access to cool spaces, drinking water, showers, ice, and medical care.
But emergency measures alone are not enough. New York’s prisons are already places of profound suffering, neglect, and preventable death. The state must also create fair pathways home by passing and implementing policies like the Second Look Act and Earned Time Act that allow people to earn release, seek meaningful review of excessive sen tences, and return to their families and communities. No one should be forced to endure dangerous heat behind bars simply because New York refuses to build a just and necessary system to reunite families.”
BACKGROUND:
Extreme indoor heat disproportionately threatens the most vulnerable, particularly an aging prison population and individuals taking psychiatric or medical prescriptions that inhibit the body’s ability to regulate temperature.
Nearly half of the people who have died in New York prisons in 2026 were 57 or older. Though specific causes of death remain unreported, 12 individuals were in their late 70s and 80s, with the oldest being 88 years old, according to data from DOCCS.
In New York, the vast majority of incarcerated people are confined to housing units without air conditioning.
In 2025, New York passed a heat mitigation law for state prisons, but despite this legislation, necessary measures have not been taken.