LIers organize to keep area state parks open

As Long Islanders begin organizing to save state parks targeted for potential closing, the chairman of the State Assembly's parks committee has threatened to invoke rarely used subpoena power to get officials to release a list of threatened facilities.

On Thursday, Newsday revealed a list of 10 Nassau and Suffolk sites that park sources said might be shut by summer if the governor's proposed budget isn't amended. Since then, three groups have been created on Facebook to lobby against any closings by the parks agency.

CSEA Local 102, which represents parks workers, and parks advocacy groups are also gearing up for campaigns to lobby legislators who must approve the budget.

The parks department faces a $29-million budget cut as Gov. David A. Paterson tries to close a more than $8-billion budget deficit. The reduction represents 16 percent of the current department budget.

Paterson's office and the parks department have denied that a list of potential park closings has been drawn up. Even as they said such a list does not exist, they would not deny that the 10 parks are being considered for closing.

"I don't buy that," said Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) of the assertion that there is no list. The chairman of the tourism and parks committee wrote parks Commissioner Carol Ash on Friday to demand a list of endangered parks. He threatened to use his committee's subpoena power to get it and said officials "are stonewalling" to avoid a backlash.

In an interview, he said the tactic isn't working, citing the dozen calls from constituents his office has received since Friday. "The budget process is moving rapidly and the public has a right to know what is being planned," he said.

Eileen Larrabee, spokeswoman for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said Monday, "We are completing a thorough analysis of our 178 parks and 35 historic sites. Any speculation on the state's action prior to completing that analysis could be misleading."

State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), who said his office has gotten about a half-dozen calls from constituents, has asked the staff of the Finance Committee, of which he is a member, to review the parks budget to find savings such as cutting use of consultants and reducing top management. He called the threat to close parks a tactic to "get the legislature to restore money."

But Robin Dropkin, executive director of Parks & Trails New York, an Albany-based advocacy group, said her organization is planning to lobby legislators because "parks has been a lean agency for several decades now; 85 percent of the budget goes to on-the-ground operations."

Allison Lyons of Malverne has formed a "Save Long Island Parks" group on Facebook that has attracted more than 500 fans since Friday. "We can't just sit back and let this happen," she said. "I've been going to state parks my entire life."

The two other Facebook groups that have been formed are "Stop The Closing Of Our State Parks!!" with more than 250 fans as of Monday evening and "Save the New York State Parks Summer and Winter Run Series!" with more than 170 fans.

The threat to state parks

The state operates 178 parks and 35 historic sites, and parks sources say more than 100 of them could be shut statewide - 10 of them on Long Island.

State Parks spokeswoman Eileen Larrabee said if closings become necessary, such factors as attendance, revenues and whether similar facilities are available at nearby parks would be considered.

Parks sources said decisions would be based on a combination of:

Geography. Would closings leave a geographic balance of parks?

Cultural diversity. Is it a park that serves a specific cultural or ethnic group?

Legal constraints. Are concession contracts in place?

Economics. Is there a private group that helps support the facility? And, most important, how much revenue does a park lose per visitor?

- Bill Bleyer