The Expansive Reach of Corcraft

I set out to quantify the movement of "things" (goods, materials, objects, products) that come into and leave out from Elmira Correctional Facility, particularly the movement through Elmira's Corcraft programs. Within this StoryMap I have presented the material import locations, product export locations, and product sales records from the Corcraft programs in Elmira Correctional Facility. This research is a part of a wider ethnographic study of the cultural effects of prison towns.

"Corcraft is the 'brand name' for the Division of Correctional Industries, an entity within the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Industries uses the manufacturing of products to assist in the department's overall mission to prepare offenders for release through skill development, work ethic, respect and responsibility."

"Corcraft is designated a 'preferred source' by New York State Law. This means that customers should look to Corcraft first for products that fit the form, function and utility of their application. Customers can buy directly from Corcraft without having to go through a time-consuming bid process."

"By law, Corcraft can only sell to government agencies at the state and local levels, schools and universities, courts, fire departments, police departments and certain not-for-profits."

"The mission of Correctional Industries (Corcraft) is to employ inmates in substantive jobs that help teach good work habits and valuable work skills, to help offset the cost of incarceration, to help reduce disruption in the prison environment and to meet expectations of the citizens."

Information taken from the  NYS Corcraft website. 

Elmira Correctional Facility has three Corcraft manufacturing programs:  The Paint Brush and Roller Cover Shop ,  The Printing Shop , and  The Cast Aluminum Foundry . In these programs, inmates at Elmira CF are employed* and manufacture the products detailed below.

*Earning ~$0.65/hour. Please note the amount of revenue Corcraft gains from this industry in the spreadsheets below.

By searching through the  Corcraft Supplier Bid System , I found the companies that Elmira's Corcraft facility contracts to obtain materials for their Paint Shop, Printing Shop, and Foundry. Use the arrows (>) below to flip through an example contract award.

Each contractor for Elmira's Corcraft facilities is mapped below. Click on the location markers for details about the materials and suppliers.

• The black location marker represents Elmira Correctional Facility.
• The green dot represents the company that provides materials for the Paint Shop.
• The blue dots represent the companies that provide materials and machinery for the Print Shop.
• The red dots represent the companies that provide materials and machinery for the Foundry.
• Click on the grey lines to see the distance between the suppliers and Elmira Correctional Facility.

I submitted a FOIL request to DOCCS for the purchase records of all products that were made in Elmira Correctional Facility's Corcraft programs during the fiscal year 2018-2019. The majority of customers listed are other New York State Correctional Facilities. Click the spreadsheet below to scroll through the product sales records. These records include all sales from the Paint Shop, the Print Shop, and the Foundry. I have the separated records of each of these three programs further down in this StoryMap. A total of 10,202 products were sold in the fiscal year 2018-2019 and the net sales totaled to $2,675,793.

Use the arrows (>) below to flip through the Paint Shop products manufactured at Elmira Correctional Facility, as listed on the  Corcraft Catalog. 

Click the spreadsheet below to scroll through the Paint Shop product sales records from the fiscal year 2018-2019. Click the "Export Quantities and Locations" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to view that information.

Each correctional facility that bought products from Elmira's Corcraft Paint Shop in the fiscal year 2018-2019 is mapped below. The location marker sizes correspond to the number of orders the facility made. Click on the location markers for details about the correctional facility buyer and the number of products sold to them. The black and white location marker represents the material import location.

Drag the slider to the right to view the map without distance lines. Drag the slider to the left to view the map with distance lines. Click on the light grey lines to see the distance between the buyer and Elmira Correctional Facility and the dark grey dotted line to see the distance between the material contractor and Elmira Correctional Facility.

Use the arrows (>) below to flip through the Print Shop products manufactured at Elmira Correctional Facility, as listed on the  Corcraft Catalog. 

Click the spreadsheet below to scroll through the Print Shop product sales records from the fiscal year 2018-2019. Click the "Export Quantities and Locations" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to view that information.

Each correctional facility that bought products from Elmira's Corcraft Print Shop in the fiscal year 2018-2019 is mapped below. The location marker sizes correspond to the number of orders the facility made. Click on the location markers for details about the correctional facility buyer and the number of products sold to them. The black and white location markers represent the material import locations.

Drag the slider to the right to view the map without distance lines. Drag the slider to the left to view the map with distance lines. Click on the light grey lines to see the distance between the buyer and Elmira Correctional Facility and the dark grey dotted lines to see the distance between the material contractor and Elmira Correctional Facility.

Below are the Foundry products manufactured at Elmira Correctional Facility, as listed on the  Corcraft Catalog. 

One interesting product manufactured at the Elmira Corcraft Foundry is a fire hydrant spray cap. These are caps that are installed onto fire hydrants to give them a sprinkler function. They were installed throughout New York City as a way to beat the summer heat. Use the arrows (>) below to flip through photos of the fire hydrant spray caps.

Click the spreadsheet below to scroll through the Foundry product sales records from the fiscal year 2018-2019. Click the "Export Quantities and Locations" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to view that information. Click the "Fire Hydrant Locations" tab for that information.

Each fire hydrant in New York City that is fitted with a Corcraft fire hydrant spray cap is mapped below in pink (zoom in to see the exact locations). Each facility that bought products from Elmira's Corcraft Foundry in the fiscal year 2018-2019 is also mapped below. The black and white location markers represent the material import locations (zoom out to view).

Drag the slider to the right to view only fire hydrant cap locations. Drag the slider to the left to view both the fire hydrant cap locations and the other foundry export locations. The distance between Elmira Correctional Facility and NYC is 175.26 miles.