Irene damage to state parks totals $15M

ALBANY -- Ann Peconie was picking through mud-covered debris left by floodwaters from the rain-swollen Mohawk River when she spotted the Victorian vase, wedged between a log and a display case inside the 18th-century manor-turned-museum she runs.

"It was perfect," she said of the artifact found inside the Walter Elwood Museum at Amsterdam's Guy Park Manor, a pre-Revolutionary War structure that sustained heavy damage from Tropical Storm Irene. Flooding from the storm also severely damaged many of the properties in the New York State's cash-strapped system of parks and historic sites.

Total damage to the parks system from flooding caused by Irene in late August is about $15 million, but a final tab won't be known for weeks or possibly months, according to Dan Keefe, spokesman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

"The priority was to clean up and get things open as quickly as possible," he said.

As a safety precaution, the state closed 95 of its 213 parks and historic sites before Irene hit the New York City area the weekend of Aug. 27, with the hurricane's remnants continuing northward to batter much of eastern New York and New England with high winds and torrential rain.

The storm closed dozens of state-run properties, from beaches on Long Island to hiking trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Other parks suffered damage when the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee caused flooding around Binghamton and other eastern areas on Sept. 8.

Keefe said most of the closed parks have reopened, except for those that normally close for the season after Labor Day. Hiking trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills are open, but some are in rough shape, Keefe said.

"When people go hiking, they should be prepared. The conditions are not ideal," he said.

Among the properties that remain closed is Guy Park Manor. The state-owned historic site on the Mohawk River's north bank in Amsterdam is operated by a local museum group headed by Peconie, its executive director.

Flooding caused by rains from Irene sent the river over its banks in late August, inundating the first floor of the Georgian limestone building that housed more than 20,000 artifacts. Sections of the structure's 19th-century additions collapsed when rushing water gouged a moat on the property and swept away the part of the foundation, causing walls to collapse and exposing parts of the interior.

Damage to the building's interior was extensive, and losses sustained to the museum's collection were still being tallied this past weekend, when volunteers and parks employees spent Saturday salvaging artifacts, furniture and other items.

Also still closed was the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, on the river's south bank in neighboring Fort Hunter. And although not a state-owned site, nearby Old Fort Johnson also suffered damage from Irene.