A sad day for historic sites in New York State
Friday, February 19, 2010 at 2:16PM The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation has recommended the closure of 14 historic sites (along with 41 parks) to meet its budget.
In a statement, Gov. David Paterson said, "New York faces an historic fiscal crisis of unprecedented magnitude. It has demanded many difficult but necessary decisions to help ensure the fiscal integrity of our State. The unfortunate reality of closing an $8.2 billion deficit is that there is less money available for many worthy services and programs. 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.”
The plan also assumes $4 million in park and historic site fee increases that will be identified at a later date, and the use of $5 million in funds from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to finance operations.
The list consists of the following sites:
- Fort Ontario State Historic Site
- Herkimer Home Historic Site
- Oriskany Battlefield/Steuben SHS
- Sackets Harbor State Historic Site
- Fort Montgomery Historic Site
- Knox Headquarters Historic Site
- New Windsor Cantonment SHS
- Stony Point State Historic Site
- Philipse Manor Hall Historic Site
- Bennington Battlefield State Park
- John Brown Farm Historic Site
- Johnson Hall State Historic Site
- Schoharie Crossing Historic Site
- Schuyler Mansion Historic Site
Reader Comments