Bayside State Prison

Bayside State Prison
Map
Location4293 Route 47
Leesburg, New Jersey
StatusOpen
Capacity2206
Opened1970
Managed byNew Jersey Department of Corrections

Bayside State Prison (BSP) is a state prison for men located in Leesburg, Maurice River Township, New Jersey.[1][2]

The prison was originally the Leesburg State Prison. In 1988, the prison was renamed to "Bayside State Prison". Some Leesburg residents stated dissatisfaction with the renaming since it was the only widely known aspect of the Leesburg community.[3]

Launched in 1977, the prison is one of eight New Jersey correctional institutions which participate in the AgriIndustires program. Inmates are given work opportunities to reduce recidivism, including at the prison's dairy operation. Prisoners work seven hours per day and the milk is sent and processed to Jones Farm in Ewing.[4] As of November 8th, 2022 the dairy farm operations closed with the shipment of milking cows and heifers to New Holland Sales Stable dairy cow auction in Pennsylvania.

In 2020, a senior Bayside corrections officer was fired after he was seen participating in a reenactment of the murder of George Floyd, mocking protesters. The New Jersey Department of Corrections, which operates the prison, called it "hateful and disappointing", and Governor Phil Murphy condemned it, calling it repugnant.[5][6][7][8]

  1. ^ "Bayside State Prison." New Jersey Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 27, 2011. "4293 RT. 42011. "Southern State Correctional Facility, located next to Bayside State Prison but technically in the township's Delmont area, has a population of about 2000."
  2. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Maurice River township, NJ" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 4 (PDF p. 5/6). Retrieved August 1, 2022. Bayside State Prison
  3. ^ Razler, David M. "TO LEESBURG, BAYSIDE PRISON NAME'S THE GAME." Press of Atlantic City. December 1, 1988. Retrieved on September 27, 2011. "Leesburg residents say they're unhappy with the change - since it takes away from them the only thing that makes their community famous."
  4. ^ Franklin, Chris (July 24, 2017). "Holy cow: In this state program, prisoners double as dairy farmers". NJ.com. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Benjamin Fearnow (June 9, 2020). "White Bystanders Appear to Re-Enact George Floyd Killing With Trump Signs in Background as Protesters March". Newsweek.
  6. ^ Rodrigo Torrejon (June 9, 2020). "N.J. corrections officer among group that mocked George Floyd's killing as protesters marched by". nj. Retrieved June 10, 2020. "We have been made aware that one of our officers from Bayside State Prison participated in the filming of a hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd," said Matt Schuman, DOC spokesman.
  7. ^ Phil Murphy [@GovMurphy] (June 9, 2020). "Mocking George Floyd's murder in effort to belittle the calls for justice from our Black and Brown communities is repugnant. I condemn this behavior in the strongest terms possible. We won't let the actions of a few distract from our progress toward dismantling systemic racism" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Cydney Long (June 9, 2020). "NJ Corrections Officer Mocks George Floyd's Death as Protesters Pass". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved June 10, 2020.