Wednesday was the tenth day of the illegal, unsanctioned strike of New York state's correction officers and the third day of mediation between the state and union officials.

What continues is also the top line demand — a repeal or significant review of the HALT Act, which restricts solitary confinement.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was the last of the three New York leaders who have power over the state budget to chime in this week. Like Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, he chastised those on the picket lines for the illegal nature of the strike.

“I get it. They’re not happy, they want changes, but I just don’t believe this was the way to get it done,” he said.

Asked about any sort of adjustment or review of the HALT Act, Heastie left the door cracked ever so slightly.

“As a Legislature, we’re always open to revisiting things,” he said before reiterating that he felt officers went about the strike in the wrong way.

Heastie seemd more open to other demands, like further Tier 6 pension reform, which would have a wider reach than just COs.

“In the last couple years, we’ve done reforms on that. We think a good pension is a great part of retention and recruitment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris reaffirmed that the state Senate won’t give the HALT Act a second look.

“The reason we passed the law is because it’s not something that helps with discipline and it’s not something that is humane,” he said.

He said there is room for conversation in the Senate when it comes to other demands focused on pension and working conditions, but doubled down on criticism of the strike’s illegal nature while questioning its proximity to indictments related to the murder of Robert Brooks at Mary Correctional Facility.

“These are all things we’re always happy to consider because we support working people and people should be working in safe environments that are productive, but I don’t think people should be rewarded for the actions that have been taken in the past week,” he said.

Those speaking on behalf of correction officers say what incited the strike was a memo in early February declaring that 70% staffing was the new 100% and blame HALT Act for staffing challenges.

Now, they say if a full repeal of HALT is off the table, they are calling for the law to be put on pause and reviewed, citing DOCCS numbers that show an increase in violent incidents since the law was passed.

“The data is there. We’re ignoring the numbers and someone needs to take action based on data and what the people on the inside are saying,” said Nicole, who identified herself as the wife of a correction officer.

Following multiple complaints, New York state Inspector General Lucy Lang already oversaw a review of the law summarized in an August 2024 report. The office was looking to ensure DOCCS was complying with the law, not just in terms of solitary confinement standards, but its rehabilitative aspects as well.

Before they were even able to dig into those questions, it became clear that antiquated recordkeeping systems within the Department of Corrections would make the review a logistical nightmare. Months later, the report raises questions about how any further review of how HALT is working could be realistically pursued if there is no way to tell if it is being followed correctly.

“It was very difficult to track whether or not the department was complying with the law and that’s because so much of the state’s prison system is maintained using paper-based records,” Lang told Spectrum News 1.

She said cross checking pages upon pages of handwritten logs with no efficient mechanism for tracking data over time made it impossible to determine if the strict standards and conditions set by HALT for placing someone in segregated confinement were even being met.

Further, she emphasized that while limiting solitary confinement is a cornerstone of the law, a key intention is making sure individuals who are in such housing have access to rehabilitative programming.

“The single best predictor of someone not recidivating when they come home is making sure they have access to educational programming while they are incarcerated,” she said.

She explains, however, that not only was it impossible to figure out whether incarcerated individuals were offered the programming, and if it was accepted or refused — they weren’t even able to determine if a appropriate amount of recreational time was being offered consistently.

“Our auditors investigators and attorneys had to go through paper logs to determine whether or not incarcerated folks were being granted the four hours mandated that they are permitted out of their cell each day, it was very difficult to determine whether or not their was in fact compliance,” she said.

The resulting recommendation from that report was an overhaul of the department recordkeeping systems to make it so there is a way to track whether or not the law is having the intended result. Given the gravity of the ongoing situation, DOCCS said they were not able to get us an update on whether progress has been made Wednesday.