GOWANDA, N.Y. — Gowanda Correctional Facility will be closing by the end of March.

The governor made the announcement Monday.

NYSCOPBA, the union representing corrections officers , says more than 500 of its Western New York members will be affected, plus all of the civilian employees at the facility.

Spectrum News spoke with Gowanda Mayor David Smith about the toll this will take on the village and beyond.

“The state was in trouble long before the pandemic. And I am so resentful of this decision to impact employees that serve and work in a small community like this. In a community that has had so much loss economically over the years, with the Peter Cooper glue factory, the Munch tannery loss, the Gowanda psychiatric facility that was in this spot, and this loss, it is just atrocious,” he said.

There are 826 inmates who will be reassigned to other facilities around the state.

The more than 500 employees will have opportunities to move to other facilities as well.

Watertown Correctional and the Annex at Clinton Correctional will also shut down in 2021. NYSCOPBA says altogether 900 of its members will be out of jobs.