ANDREW CUOMO SAYS on March 9 that Corcraft, a New York State–run company, will begin producing hand sanitizer. “It has a very nice floral bouquet,” he says. “I detect lilac. Hydrangea. Tulips.” Corcraft is operated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), which runs New York’s state prisons. I do not hear Andrew Cuomo say this. I do not hear him say that around 2,100 people incarcerated by the state work for Corcraft. Or that they make, on average, 65 cents an hour, can earn as little as 16 cents an hour. Or that they themselves are unable to use hand sanitizer because in prison it is considered contraband. “We are problem solvers,” Cuomo says. We, as in, the “state of New York, Empire State, progressive capital of the nation.”

Some send letters to my home, through the postal service. Others write through JPay’s email service. Approximately 4,800 characters requires one “stamp”; longer emails require more stamps. Each attachment requires one stamp. Each thirty-second “video gram” requires four stamps. Ten stamps cost $3. One hundred stamps cost $23.

Because visitations have been suspended, DOCCS promises that everyone will receive at least one free phone call, two free emails, and five free postage stamps per week, though I hear this has yet to be implemented. In a few weeks, DOCCS will increase the number of calls to two.