In its January report, DOCCS said the state has eliminated more than 6,650 beds and saved $193 million annually with the closure of 17 prisons.

But Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, thinks Cuomo and state legislators should be working with the union to address prison violence.

"State policies have created dangerous situations inside prison walls and put our members at risk," Powers said. "Let's right-size the prison system by eliminating double-bunking, which will create a safer environment for both incarcerated individuals and staff. The last we need is prisons to be shuttered, especially on short notice and without public input, and the economies of upstate communities to be gutted from the aftermath."

Cuomo has said that he doesn't believe prisons should be an economic development tool. But for some communities, prisons are major employers.

In Cayuga County, there are two state prisons — Auburn Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison, and Cayuga Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison. There are more than 1,200 people employed by the prisons, making DOCCS the largest employer in the county.