Chimney Bluffs, other state parks may be saved from closure
Joseph Spector • Gannett Albany bureau • March 25, 2010
ALBANY — State lawmakers said Wednesday they will restore more than $11 million to keep open 55 parks and historical sites that Gov. David Paterson had sought to close in the 2010-11 fiscal year.
The state Assembly and Senate are separately recommending about $11.5 million total in restorations to keep the parks open. The sides said they will work with Paterson to include the aid in the final budget deal, which is due April 1.
"We still have to work out between the two houses the source of that restoration," said Assembly Parks Committee Chairman Steven Engelbright, D-Suffolk County, "but the sum is about the same and the goal is exactly the same."
The state has never closed one of its parks.
Parks advocates derided Paterson's January proposal to lower aid for state parks by $29 million, a 16 percent cut from the current fiscal year.
The cuts led to the announcement of massive closures and service reductions in the 125-year-old park system, the oldest in the nation with 178 parks and 35 historic sites.
Parks targeted for closure included Oak Orchard State Marine Park in Orleans County and Beechwood and Chimney Bluffs state parks in Wayne County. Swimming at Hamlin Beach State Park in Monroe County would have been closed three days a week.
The agency still faces cuts in operating aid and has $650 million in capital needs, Engelbright said.
Parks groups urged lawmakers to pass the budget quickly to ensure parks can open soon and have enough time to hire employees for the summer.