ie ms oseet "har q NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF : oe a ® Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation For release, April 1, 2010 Governor Paterson Presents Alternative to Closures of NYS Parks Albany, NY ~ April 1, 2010 The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), in conjunction with Governor David Paterson today announced an alternative plan to one issued on February 19 proposing the closure of 41 state parks and an additional 14 historic sites across the Empire State. After encountering significant pushback from residents, recreational organizations, and tourism agencies in the weeks since the original proposal, Governor Paterson and Parks Commissioner Carol Ash today proposed an alternative plan that will, when approved by the State Legislature, provide even greater budget benefits, as well as resolving a number of other long-term conflicts and challenges within New York's political system. This summer, New York State will close only one facility, the Adirondack Park. “The voices of so many New Yorkers just cannot be ignored” said Commissioner Ash, “Historic. Preservation groups, recreation enthusiasts, camping organizations, even national associations came to the defense of these sites, and quite frankly we hadn’t thought those parks were quite that popular. Of course we immediately began formulating an alternative plan”. So, after long meetings between the Governor's office, the OPRHP, the DEC, Legislative leaders, lobbyists and fundraisers in Albany, Governor Paterson today announced that the listed parks and sites will now remain open, in favor of the single closure. On August first of this year, New York State will shutter the Adirondacks, “It’s just so logical, | don’t know why we didn’t think of it before. We consider the closure of the ‘Adirondacks a much more efficient and effective strategy, and one which is likely to carry a much ‘smaller political impact for all involved” said Governor Paterson. “In one action, we'll be putting a much bigger dent in our budget deficit than we would have in the previous proposal. Not only do we save the budget allocations for the Adirondack Park Agency, numerous State Authorities, and a large part of the Environmental Conservation budget, but we'll no longer have all that infrastructure to maintain, and frankly the population up there has always been a pretty big drain on New York's coffers.” ‘Commissioner Ash added “[olur whole plan fits perfectly within New York's Constitution, which calls for the Adirondack Park to be, and | quote, Forever Wild. By removing the residents and withdrawing all State employees and infrastructure, the park will quickly return to its pure and natural condition.” ‘The plan’s environmental benefits mean it will likely be lauded by groups such as the Adirondack Cour and Protect the Adirondacks! (sic). In the next three months, all Adirondack municipal entities will be disbanded, and current residents of the park will be offered a choice of relocation sites. Seven tent-cities will be located near Niagara Falls,Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, Westchester County, central Long Island, and the Catskills; a number of vacant buildings in one or more Boroughs of New York City will be made available for former ‘Adirondackers who opt to become citified. The actual move can happen as late as August first. “Yes, people up there will be giving up their houses, such as they are, but New York State will relocate all ‘their personal items, or hold them in storage until the former Adirondack residents get settled in new permanent homes” said Commissioner Ash. “Our temporary relocation communities will provide every ‘comfort ~ and mare ~ those Adirondackers are used to : wi-fi, electricity, indoor bathroom facilities, access to shopping malls, and we're in negotiation to have cable television service for one and all!” ‘While the Adirondacks is home — for now — to fewer than 150,000 year-round residents, it has also long been a popular vacation-home destination, and the State is addressing that issue as well, Governor Paterson noted. “We have reviewed lakefront and other second-home ownership records, and for every ‘New Yorker who has a place in the Adirondacks, we are preparing to offer a comparable property in one ‘of New York’s many other attractive second-home markets.” For second-home owners from outside New York, the Governor will issue official letters to those displaced, to present in their state of residence ~ requesting special consideration from their own governors. ‘The State action will mean big changes for one historical site in the Adirondacks: the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic venues in Lake Placid. The Governor expressed regret that the original locations would be abandoned, but added “those Olympics were in the out-of-date ‘quaint, small-town’ Olympics style, so all those facilities have basically been a money hole ever since 1980. By moving the ‘Miracle’ rink and various memorabilia down to the State Museum in Albany, we're preserving this important but no longer feasible piece of history, but we won't have to subsidize those old venues any longer.” Certain details have yet to be ironed out in the plan. One of the previously announced closures ~ the John Brown farm and burial site — is located in the North Elba, near Lake Placid; in order to keep that historic venue open, the entire facility — including buildings and Brown family remains — will be relocated to physically-similar surroundings in Dutchess County; an interpretive plaque will be erected to educate future generations of visitors about this historic move. Commissioner Ash noted that by locating the Brown site closer to the New York City metropolitan area, the state expects to see much higher visitor traffic there. ‘Another issue yet to be resolved is the status of prisons in the region. Planners have suggested, though, that certain correctional facilities in the Adirondacks may remain, with inmates delivered — and ‘occasionally released ~ using air transport once the roads return to their primitive state. Of course since the Adirondack Region remains a beautiful part of the Empire State, visitors may: flock there. But without roads into or out of the mountains, itis expected that a healthy wilderness ‘guiding industry may spring up on the edges of the closure zone. New York will require any and all Visitors to the Adirondack Wilderness Zone to sign a waiver of liability, releasing the State from responsibility for any damage or injury to person or property once they cross the blue line. a