New York
Status: At Risk
178 State Parks | 37 Historic Sites
Take Action! Contact your state representatives.
New York is blessed with 178 state parks and over 30 state-owned historic sites, comprising 325,000 acres. With more than 55 million visitors a year, parks and sites are popular destinations, and central to a tourism industry that generates significant economic returns (every $1 invested in state parks generates $5 of economic activity). Why then are 41 state parks and 14 state-owned historic sites slated to close, not to mention the reduction of services at another 24 locations? Governor Paterson's proposed budget for 2010-11 calls for cuts to parks and sites as a highly visible means to demonstrate fiscal responsibility and save dollars in light of a growing state deficit that now reaches about $9.2 billion.
The current "hit" list of parks and sites could actually become much larger. A controversial plan by the Governor calls on the legislature to tap an existing state environmental fund for $5 million and assign it over to the parks and sites agency to cover operating expenses. Approval for this move is questionable and would take away funding currently available for preservation projects across the state. If it fails, more state parks and sites will likely be added to the list slated for closure.
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, has seen five different rounds of cuts in the last two years alone, amounting to 25 percent of the agency's operating budget. In the big picture of New York's state budget, the savings realized from the latest round of cuts is relatively small. Yet, for a system that already has a $650 million backlog in maintenance needs, the cuts will be crippling, leaving no option other than closures.
The people who rely on parks and sites as affordable enrichment, entertainment, exercise, and connection lose out. Entire communities suffer too. As parks and sites close, local and regional economies will no doubt be negatively impacted greatly. A study produced last year by Parks and Trails New York credits state parks and sites for generating $1.9 billion through associated tourism and other development.
Rallies, petition drives, and a strong public outcry demonstrate the unpopularity of the Governer's budget proposal, and have not let up since the proposed closures were first announced – all calling for the funding to be restored.
What is the future of New York's state parks and state-owned historic sites?
June 1, 2010: The places on New York's list of proposed closures were shuttered on May 17. But dramatic developments followed the National Trust's announcement that the threat to New York's state parks and historic sites was a prime example of the national problem highlighted by the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list. With the Memorial Day weekend looming large, the Governor and NY state legislature reached agreement to reopen the closed parks and historic sites, and to restore needed funding. The system still faces a $650 million maintenance backlog, and advocates expect the agency will remain a target for future cuts until the state's revenue outlook improves. For this year, though, New York's greatest places are once again accessible to the state's families, tourists, and lovers of nature, history, and recreation.
May 19, 2010: More than 50% of the parks contain resources that are listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Nearly 60% of the system’s historic sites are designated National Historic Landmarks. The range of risks and problems the closures pose is staggering. Over the long-term, the cuts will likely cause physical damage – some irreversible – through deferred maintenance, vandalism, and looting which are all expected. Historic sites that are closed will have heat and water turned off. Provisions must be made to clear and store a host of historic collections from sites, in an agency where all central collections storage is already at capacity. Some of the sites proposed for closure are in high-crime urban areas, and some of the parks are in remote areas with little to non-existent local patrols. Deferred maintenance has already affected historic landscapes and structures system wide; once the places are closed, constituents are shut out, and oversight is eliminated, with rapidly accelerated deterioration from neglect anticipated.
Statewide partner the Preservation League of New York State is leading the statewide advocacy effort.
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