New York state will fund 88 revitalization
and rehabilitation projects, totaling $71.7
million, to be completed at 60 state parks
and historic sites across this year.
The overall project is dubbed NY Parks
2020, a multi-year commitment to leverage
a broad range of private and public funding
to invest approximately $900 million in
State Parks from 2011 to 2020. In the Capital
Region, there will be eight projects totaling
$3.8 million, including three in Saratoga State
Park and one in Moreau Lake State Park in
Gansevoort, state officials said.
“New York is home to some of the top
outdoor recreational and historic sites in
the world and it is critical that we safeguard
them for generations to come,” Gov. Andrew
Cuomo said. “With this funding, we are
building on our past success in improving
the infrastructure of our state parks and
developing them into economic engines for
local communities.”
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey said
the projects “will not only help fix and restore
aging park infrastructure but also enhance
our environment, connect people to healthy,
active outdoor recreation and energize local
economies.”
The Saratoga projects include:
Installation of a “green” parking lot at
Roosevelt Baths, $55,000; and installation
of high-efficiency heating boilers, $400,000
Ongoing rehabilitation of historic Spa campus
buildings and grounds, $300,000.
At Moreau Lake State Park, state crews
will construct five new rental cabins in the
campground area at a cost of $700,000.
The governor committed $110 million to
the effort in the 2015-16 state budget. In
addition to the projects announced today,
the 2015-16 budget will provide for various
system-wide improvements, such as investments
in energy efficiency, technology,
natural resource stewardship, and trail projects;
and allocates funding for emergencies,
engineering and construction oversight, and
design of future year projects.
This year’s funding will launch 88 major
construction projects across the state, including
expanding camping options at Buttermilk
Falls, Evangola, Four Mile Creek, Golden Hill
and Moreau Lake State Parks; modernizing
the bathhouses that anchor the swimming
areas at Allegany, Fort Niagara, and Hamlin
Beach State Parks; improving athletic facilities
at Gantry Plaza and Riverbank state
parks; and continuing multi-year plans to
restore the historic and aesthetic grandeur
of Niagara Falls and Jones Beach State Parks.
The projects make up the next phase of the
long-term NY Parks 2020 plan, which follows
seven strategic priorities:
• Making comprehensive investments in
the state’s most popular flagship parks to
ensure they remain relevant throughout the
21st Century;
• Targeting investments to projects that
promote healthy, active outdoor recreation;
• Ensuring people from all walks of life
have opportunities to connect with parks;
• Replacing well used but worn out public
use facilities and critical infrastructure that
have been neglected too long;
• Preserving historic sites and cultural
assets;
• Ensuring proper stewardship of some of
the state’s most unique ecosystems, including
making them more resilient to extreme
weather; and
• Leveraging the tourism impact of state
parks to energize local economies.
Executive Director of Parks & Trails NY
Robin Dropkin said the park system is the
oldest, and one of the most heavily visited, in
the nation, contributing $2 billion annually
to the state’s economy.