State's budget woes may close 55 parks for a long, dry summer
Sunday, May 9th 2010, 4:00 AM
Riverbank's staff should already be hiring lifeguards for its 25-yard outdoor lap pool and filling summer class rosters at the park, which perches above the Hudson near 145th St. But it, and other state parks, are facing an uncertain future.
"It's devastating," said Harlem dad Lewis Burgess, 59. "One of the worst things to do in the summertime is to take away the pool."
Burgess lives five blocks from Riverbank, where a sign at the information desk says registration for all summer programs is on hold.
"The real frustration is not being able to get any information about what is going to happen," he said.
In response to Gov. Paterson's proposed budget cuts, the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has said it will close 55 parks and historic sites around the state - and reduce hours and shutter facilities at others.
The proposed cuts include padlocking Bayswater Point State Park in Queens - a favorite spot for planespotters near JFK Airport - and slashing hours at Riverbank as well as closing its outdoor pool and canceling classes and community programs for kids and seniors.
At Jones Beach State Park on the Long Island shore, a swimming pool is also slated to close, and Fourth of July fireworks would be canceled. At Harriman State Park, in Rockland and Orange counties, the Anthony Wayne Recreational Area would be closed.
The parks ultimately may be spared - both the Senate and the Assembly have voted to restore $11.3 million in parks operating funds to the final budget. But parks advocates say time is running out as negotiations stall on an already overdue budget.
The delays put summer activities like swimming and camping in jeopardy because the hiring and preparation that needs to happen each spring has been put on hold.
"Parks are going through this limbo-land, so to speak," said Robin Dropkin, executive director of Parks & Trails New York, a statewide advocacy organization. "They are treading water - but there's no water in the pool!"
Eileen Larrabee, a spokeswoman for the parks agency, said that it is going ahead as if Paterson's budget cuts will stay in place. Spring preparations are completely on hold for the parks on the close list.
"We are not opening rest-rooms," she said. "We are not doing the general maintenance, whether it be putting out picnic tables or mowing the lawns... we're not hiring seasonal employees for those parks."
That includes not hiring nine lifeguards at Riverbank. Larrabee also said that in the next several weeks, the agency is planning to follow through with cutting the Harlem park's hours to 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. The 28-acre park - built on top of a sewage treatment plant - is now open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The reduced hours would cut indoor lap swimming time and make it impossible for many kids' sports teams to practice and compete at the park, said Burgess, whose 14-year-old son plays on the Riverbank State Park Rangers hockey team. He said that any money saved would be offset by losses in registration fees and facility permits.
"The children are being hurt, clearly," said Burgess, who is part of a group called New Yorkers to Save Riverbank. "Just cutting seems to be counterproductive, and it hurts so many people."
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