Things to do, places to eat, shows to see, places to stay in Madison County, NY      

A story in today's Post Standard says that closing the state parks will have little impact on the state's budget deficit.  Due to lost tax revenue we still think it will have the opposite effect.

Syracuse, NY -- State officials on Friday recommended closing dozens of state parks to fill New York’s budget gap, a move that would affect hundreds of thousands of Central New Yorkers and produce minimal savings.
The $6.3 million saved through proposed park closures would amount to a fraction of 1 percent of the state’s $8.2 billion budget gap.
On the same day state officials said they need to close the parks to make the state solvent, they gave millions of dollars in grants to private companies — more than enough money to save every park.
Gov. David Paterson and parks Commissioner Carol Ash announced Friday they want to close or reduce services at 64 state parks and 15 historic sites statewide. Central New York risks losing six parks, two beaches and two historic sites if the Legislature approves the plan. More than 300,000 people a year use the targeted parks in Central New York alone.
See a complete list of proposed park closures.
“In an environment when we have to cut funding to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and social services, no area of state spending — including parks and historic sites — could be exempt from reductions,” Paterson said.

Just a half hour after the parks news, state officials announced $7.7 million in taxpayer-funded grants to help private developers and companies renovate buildings, buy equipment and build apartments.
For example, the Empire State Development Corp. gave the village of Liverpool $883,302 to help a developer renovate a vacant building into nine apartments and two storefronts. Less than half that money — about $378,000 — would save every park, beach and historic site slated to be axed in Central New York.
The money ESDC gave out in grants couldn’t be used to save the parks because it is borrowed, which means it can’t legally be used for state operating expenses, budget spokesman Matt Anderson said. The state’s borrowing is secured with income tax money.
As word of the closures spread, legislators downplayed the dramatic announcement, saying they’d work to find money in other parts of the budget to save the parks.
The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has had its budget slashed 40 percent over the last two years. The proposed park closures come despite the agency’s plans to trim $13 million in administrative costs, spokesman Dan Keefe said.
The agency also is counting on two other budget fixes to make ends meet. Ash wants to increase fees at state parks and historic sites to raise an extra $4 million next year, and both she and Paterson proposed sweeping $5 million from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund into the parks budget. The EPF is a permanent pot of money dedicated to paying for environmentally friendly initiatives. It has faced several cuts in recent years.
If the Legislature votes against transferring the money, dozens more parks, beaches and historic sites will close or have services cut, Keefe said, In Central New York, Sandy Island Beach State Park, Verona Beach State Park, Long Point State Park and Lorenzo State Historic Site would close, while Green Lakes State Park beach, Chenango Valley State Park beach and Delta Lake State Park beach would reduce their hours, Keefe said.
All the closures are recommendations. The Legislature will decide the ultimate fate of the parks when lawmakers vote on a state budget. Their deadline is April 1.
Scores of legislators, many from Central New York, already have come out against the plan.
Several cited a 2009 report by the Political Economy Research Institute, a think tank at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, that found for every dollar the state spends on parks, it gets back $5 dollars in economic activity.
“The terrible irony is that since the beginning of the economic downturn, with New Yorkers living in the age of ‘staycations,’ park attendance has actually increased in most areas of the state,” said Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome. “These budget cuts could be considered regressive and wind up costing the state more.”
--Delen Goldberg can be reached at dgoldberg@syracuse.com or 470-2274.