IN RE: Alfredo LUGO (2008)

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Platkin, J.), entered April 27, 2007 in Albany County, which dismissed petitioner's application, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, to review a determination of the Central Office Review Committee denying his grievance.

In May 2006, petitioner, an inmate at Wyoming Correctional Facility in Wyoming County, requested an area of preference transfer to a correctional facility closer to his home.   After petitioner was informed that he was not eligible for such transfer because his status code of “REU” for academic programming indicated that he was negatively removed from the program due to unacceptable attendance, participation or progress, he filed a grievance.   The grievance was ultimately denied by the Central Office Review Committee.   Petitioner thereafter commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding.   Supreme Court dismissed the petition, prompting this appeal.

 We affirm.   At Wyoming Correctional Facility, only inmates who successfully participate in major programming, and obtain certain status codes during quarterly reviews, are eligible to request area of preference transfers.   Inasmuch as petitioner did not obtain one of the acceptable status codes for his academic programming, the denial of petitioner's grievance was not irrational or arbitrary and capricious (see Matter of Williams v. Goord, 41 A.D.3d 1118, 1118, 839 N.Y.S.2d 566 [2007], lv. denied 9 N.Y.3d 812, 846 N.Y.S.2d 602, 877 N.E.2d 652 [2007];  Matter of Kalwasinski v. Goord, 36 A.D.3d 1068, 1069, 826 N.Y.S.2d 519 [2007], lv. denied 8 N.Y.3d 811, 834 N.Y.S.2d 719, 866 N.E.2d 1048 [2007] ). In any event, even if petitioner were eligible to request an area of preference transfer, “it is well settled that an inmate has no right to select the correctional facility in which he or she is housed” and the Commissioner of Correctional Services retains broad discretion to coordinate inmate transfers (Matter of Burr v. Goord, 8 A.D.3d 853, 854, 778 N.Y.S.2d 324 [2004];  see Correction Law § 23 [1];  Matter of Partee v. Bennett, 253 A.D.2d 950, 950, 678 N.Y.S.2d 917 [1998] ).

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.