February 13, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

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Protesting Park Closings
March 4th, 2010

Gotham Gazette parks writer Anne Schwartz filed this post.

Gov. David Paterson’s plan to close state parks has generated an outpouring of voter outrage. The proposal would shutter as many as 91 of the state’s 178 state parks and 14 of its 35 historic sites, and reduce services at others, to save $20 million, a quarter of 1 percent of the state’s $8 billion-plus budget gap.

“In my 34 years with the legislature, I have never seen an issue that has resonated so much with the public,” Republican Sen. Hugh Farley told the Albany Times-Union.

Several hundred people rallied in Albany yesterday outside the Capitol, while more than a dozen lawmakers from both parties spoke out against the closures, which could take effect as soon as April 1. Democratic Assemblyman Steve Englebright, chair of the tourism and parks committee, said he and other lawmakers are disturbed that the state parks agency has begun to cancel campsite reservations and issue refunds before the legislature has a chance to address the issue, the Times-Union reported.

Closing the parks would actually cause the state to lose revenue. A study by the nonprofit advocacy group Parks and Trails New York found that every dollar the state spends on parks and historic sites returns $5 to the state and local economies, amounting to $1.9 billion a year. Studies in other states, like one released a few days ago by state of Tennessee, have found similar benefits.

By Gail Robinson on March 4, 2010, 4:53 pm
In category: Albany, Parks | No Comments »

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