BUFFALO, N.Y. — A spokesperson for the Erie County Sheriff's Office says claims that inmate facilities at the Erie County Holding Center have been without hot water for two years are false.

The claims have once again made the holding center a central talking point and community activists are once again demanding change.

What You Need To Know

  • Community activists rallied at the Erie County Holding Center to protest "inhumane living conditions."

  • Inmates allege the center's Echo Hall dorm has been without water for two years.

  • The holding center has been under scrutiny for years due to a series of deaths and reports of abuse.

  • Activists are demanding Erie County Legislator Mark Poloncarz denies the sheriff's department an increase in the 2022 budget hearing on Nov. 15.

Activists gathered on the steps of the holding center on Sunday, on the eve of the county budget hearing, to demand an end to what many both inside and out have called inhumane conditions. According to advocates, multiple inmates in the center’s Echo Dorm, which reopened in January, say their facilities have been without hot water for two years.

“Since it’s been open, there’s been no hot water in that dorm, so the lack of hot water has been going for about two years now," said Myles Carter, an imam for Erie County Jails and a community activist. "I believe they lost at least one boiler in the Erie County Holding Center and they haven’t replaced it, and they haven’t come up with a plan to replace it.”

This is the latest in a series of questionable conditions in the holding center in recent years, including thirty-two inmate deaths since 2005 and most recently, the suicide of a sheriff’s deputy in June. A rally was held this summer in which allegations of starvation and abuse were made. A letter coming from inmate Germain Adams and nine others details the latest issues raised within the facility.

“We have continued human rights violations," said Carter. "We have continued criminalization. We have continued neglect of the individuals being housed in the Erie County Holding Center. And I think that the biggest thing to note based on our own law here in America is that we’re innocent until presumed guilty.”

While some are hoping for change under a new county sheriff's administration, others argue real change starts from the bottom up.

“This is a historical problem," said activist Diallo Payne. "It doesn’t matter necessarily who the figurehead is in a crooked system that’s leading to a lot of deaths. It’s a lot of deaths; that’s the bottom line.”

A plea has been made to lawmakers as the fight continues for improved conditions at the holding center.

“Our demand is that the Erie County Legislature act immediately and deny the budget for 2022 until a plan and action is put forward to restore the hot water and that a tangible workaround is put in place with direct supervision by the oversight committee until the hot water is restored," Carter said.

The sheriff's office says the Erie County Buildings and Grounds Department takes care of all county-owned properties.

The county budget hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday.