State giving the gift of warmth
84 coats to be delivered to Cairo church, Catskill food pantry
The Daily Mail
Nov. 28, 2008

With temperatures, not to mention family savings, dropping, Greene and Columbia county residents can be thankful for a state gift of free coats.

Gov. David A. Paterson announced that the Department of Correctional Services has donated more than 190 winter coats to area distribution centers, according to a press release issued on Nov. 24.

According to the Governor’s office, 108 coats will be presented to the City of Hudson’s coat drive; 60 coats will be given to Resurrection Lutheran Church, in Cairo; and 24 coats will go to God’s Storehouse and Food Pantry, in Catskill.

“This is a small gesture, but hopefully these coats will find their way to individuals who need them this winter,” Paterson said in the press release. “It is in the spirit of Thanksgiving that we hope to provide a little warmth to the most vulnerable of our residents.”

Seven thousand of the blue polyester-and-cotton coats will be distributed statewide in a variety of adult sizes. Although the coats, which were manufactured by inmates at Clinton Correctional Facility’s Apparel Shop and were part of the standard correction officer uniform until 2006, they closely resemble commercially made coats.

“It was apparent that we would no longer have a use for these coats, and it made sense to make this most of these surplus items by helping our fellow New Yorkers,” Brian Fischer, department commissioner, said in the release.

The coats began their journey to their new homes after an inventory of items in storage was conducted, Correctional Services spokesman Erik Kriss said Wednesday. Fischer approached the Governor about giving the coats away, an idea that appealed to the Governor. Fischer worked with prison supervisors, inclucing Hudson Correctional Facility’s Jeff McCoy, to choose centers to receive the coats, Kriss said.

Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera worked with the department to procure the coats, said Rev. Ed Cross, who coordinates the Community Warmth Program, which grew out of a winter hearing forum held in August.

Coat deliveries began immediately, and items will be available to the public in the coming weeks.

Cross said Wednesday that he is busy planning giveaway events for this winter, but people who need winter coats and blankets can contact him at any time. He said that the department’s gift almost doubled the supply of coats the City has collected from individual donations and drives, such as one sponsored by the Bank of Greene County.

The coats will be available at Resurrection Lutheran Church, in Cairo, during a giveaway on Dec. 20, Joyce Notarnicola, who runs such events, said. Charlotte Stengle, who ran the church coat giveaway until this year, said that more than 100 winter coats were picked up by residents last winter.

Mary Irvis of God’s Storehouse and Food Pantry said that most of the 50 coats available every year are usually taken by mid-winter, and the coats should help extend availability.

Corrections coats were given to organizations in 35 communities across the state.