Rep. Tom Reed drew parallels between New York state officials closing down two state prisons and some Albany Democrats wanting to implement heroin injection sites, two ideas he said combine in a showing of an “agenda that is truly extreme.”

“It shows the danger of the radical left agenda,” the Corning Republican said on a conference call with regional media.

He cited studies from the Opioid Coordination Council in the state of Vermont and University of Sydney, Australia that either suggest the costs of performing further research on the subject are too great or that heroin injection sites don’t significantly decrease the chances of overdoses and drug-related deaths.

On top of the controversial push for heroin injection sites, New York’s Department of Corrections intends on closing down the Livingston Correctional Facility in Sonyea and the Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem, something that bothered Reed despite the lack of prisoners that has been listed as one reason for the impending closures.

“You’re not solving the problem,” Reed said. “You’re actually compounding the problem.”

Reed defended his stance by saying prisons are “where bad people have to go,” he added, possibly to be rehabilitated. He said the 90 days’ notice of the prison closures are telling of a “priority-setting agenda.”

Last month, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-New York, introduced a bill to open five heroin injection sites throughout the state.

“What you’re pursuing is a feel-good notion,” Reed said during the call.

He said that the sites have had “no discernible impact on heroin overdoses” and echoed Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes, R-Caledonia, in saying that the sites continue to normalize drug use. Reed said the closure of state facilities removes a tool from the criminal justice toolkit.

“Why would anyone believe it’s a good idea to close more prisons while creating the conditions for increased homelessness, violence and crime, and area drug dealers with heroin injection sites,” Reed said. “Common sense has flown out the window under one-party control in Albany.”

The Livingston Correctional Facility, which is expected to close by early September, currently employs nearly 400 employees and houses close to 900 inmates. A statement from the Department of Corrections said that closing the two facilities will eliminate 1,200 vacant beds without impacting the efficacy and security of 52 remaining prisons in New York.

Follow Eric Zavinski at twitter.com/EZavinski