Albany, New York – Assembly Correction Committee Chair David I. Weprin joined Assembly Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus Chair N. Nick Perry, Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol, Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried, former Assembly Correction Chair Daniel. O’Donnell and other Assembly colleagues in authoring a letter calling for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to reinstate commissary at all affected facilities and end the inmate package program established by DOCCS Directive #4911A.

Issued on December 4, 2017 and implemented at the start of the year, Directive #4911A establishes a policy by which inmates, their family and friends, are limited to ordering packages and articles for delivery from a restricted list of approved vendors in order to enhance the safety and security of correctional facilities. With recent reports corroborating concerns heard by the office of Assemblyman David I. Weprin and the Committee on Correction about the consequences of this program, which include a significant increase in price for many products, a restriction of fresh fruits and vegetables, affecting inmates with religious dietary restrictions, a limitation on books amounting to 98 specific books in packages, 24 of which are coloring books, and the closing of the commissary at affected facilities; Weprin issued a follow up to a May 2017 letter which expressed concerns about the package program.