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OPRHP – Testimony Before NYS Assembly Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee
November 1, 2011
Testimony Before NYS Assembly Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee
Commissioner Rose Harvey
Thank you, Chairwoman Markey, and members of the Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee, for inviting me here today to discuss our New York State park system, and the agency’s role in supporting New York’s tourism industry. As Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, I am charged with overseeing one of our state’s greatest treasures – the 126-year-old New York State park system. Since the 1885 creation of Niagara Reservation State Park – the oldest state park in the nation – the system has grown to 213 state Parks and Historic Sites encompassing 330,000 acres of protected lands and waters. Widely regarded as the finest in the nation, our New York State park system attracts tens of millions of visitors annually.
Since my appointment by Governor Cuomo in January, I have been traveling throughout our system to better understand park and historic site needs. I continue to be impressed by the diversity and scale of our park system. We have more parks than any other state park system in the nation, and the most developed system, and we’re the fourth-largest and second-most visited park system in the nation.
Our state park system is critical to our state’s prosperity and well-being. For a relatively small agency, State Parks has an outsized impact on New York’s economic development. Last year, 57 million people visited our 213 state parks and historic sites. Niagara Falls State Park alone attracts more visitors than Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks combined. Park visitors have a significant impact on New York’s economy and jobs.
A 2009 study by the Political Economy Research Institute of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst found that spending by New York State Parks and its visitors support 20,000 private-sector jobs (in addition to State Parks jobs), with an average compensation of about $50,000 a year. On a statewide basis, direct spending by the Office of Parks on park maintenance and capital improvements, and spending by visitors to state parks, supports up to $1.9 billion in output and sales. About 40 percent of the total is by people coming from outside the community to visit a park, and spending on transportation, lodging, groceries, restaurants, and other shopping. One-quarter of the people who stay at our campgrounds visit from out-of-state.
New York is open for business – and State Parks are a great place to do business. We have roughly 100 concession contracts with private business – everything from resort hotels to snack bars and the Maid of the Mist to kayak rental concessions. These businesses alone generate nearly $90 million in gross receipts annually, of which almost $10 million is returned directly to the agency to support park operations.
Our parks host major events, such as concerts, festivals and golf tournaments, which provide an economic boost to local economies. Bethpage State Park, for example, has twice hosted the U.S. Open Golf Championship and will host the PGA Tour’s Barclay’s tournament next year.
Yet the park system has its challenges. Consistent with many other state agencies, the Office of parks is rethinking its operations to provide the best service to our patrons at least cost. As a result of my visits to the parks and robust discussions with senior staff, we are focused on three main priorities to maintain the quality of park system, deliver a critical service to the people of New York, and contribute to the economic revitalization of New York.
Going into the summer season, our first goal was to keep open all parks and historic sites and maintain the quality of service with limited staffing and resources. Governor Cuomo made it clear that we need to keep all the parks open, particularly for those working class families where our parks are the only affordable alternative. I’m proud to say we’ve accomplished this goal. Despite some very uncooperative weather, we’ve had a successful season in 2011. We had another successful Memorial Day Air Show at Jones Beach State Park, opened a new and much needed $20 million aquatic facility at Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx; celebrated the millionth visitor to the new Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park in Poughkeepsie, extended our hours at swimming beaches across the state during the July heat wave, and kept our patrons and staff safe during Tropical Storms Irene and Lee.
We’ve done this – and will continue to do this – by focusing on our core values, maximizing efficiency, and leveraging our limited resources. Efficiency measures we implemented this past season included satellite park management, more partnerships with local governments, “controlled nature,” roving park maintenance, concessionaire-operated golf courses, and automation. We’ve learned a lot about how to do more with less this season, and we will continue to build on the experience.
We’re also bringing more focus to the agency. Our parks can no longer be all things to all people. During the off-season, our regional directors and park managers are going to focus on the core values that define what’s important about each park and we will align our future management to these core values. We’ve also set up a “blue ribbon” committee to review a new strategic plan by the State Historic Preservation Office to enhance the management of our 35 state historic sites. We will continue to look for ways to strengthen the work of our non-profit Friends Groups and partnerships with local governments to help operate parks that have mostly local visitation or are passive in nature.
Our second goal is to increase the quality and quantity of satisfied visitors—so we are number one most-visited and appreciated parks system in the country. To begin with, we must keep fees for core services affordable in these difficult times, particularly to underserved communities who cannot afford more. And we need to increase transportation access and physical access, such as trails and connectors to our own and local parks. We will create a strong brand to promote and celebrate our parks and historic sites, including uniforms, customer service training, marketing materials handed out at parks, and website improvements. We will soon have available a mobile app so smartphone users can more easily access information about our parks.Leveraging our limited resources with local government partnerships, Friends Groups and volunteers is a very high priority. We can supply the land, the buildings, the infrastructure, and many services, but we are looking to working with partners to provide more and a deeper level of programs and use opportunities—again, in keeping with the core value and purposes of each and every park. Simple policy changes such as providing access to different user groups – such as kayakers and canoeists – who’ve had limited access will help more patrons enjoy the park.
Our third goal is to fix the aging infrastructure and build a 21st century green and sustainable park system. We need to restore, rehabilitate, and improve the strong, stable, and visionary park system we inherited from the likes of Frederick Law Olmsted and Robert Moses. In 1883, Olmsted convinced the State to pass legislation to purchase the Niagara Reservation, which became the nation’s first state park. Then in the 1920’s, the State and Robert Moses picked up the mantle and completed, funded, and built out one of the most ambitious and visionary state park plans in the country. A system designed to be easily accessible to New York residents and visitors and offer them unprecedented recreational, historic and nature experiences in the likes of Jones Beach, Palisades State Park, Letchworth, Allegany, Olana and, last but not least, Riverbank and Roberto Clemente. As the oldest and most developed park system in the country, New York has significant infrastructure challenges that must be addressed. This year we have identified resources that begin to address our priority capital needs. For example, better than budgeted revenues in parks allowed us to spend an additional $7 million on equipment and capital projects this fiscal year. We’ve also freed up $5 million of previous federal Transportation Enhancements funds, granted to the agency but which were never spent, to advance park and historic site improvements. We will continue to work on raising private dollars for parks and partnering on capital projects with sister agencies and our friends groups. We are also prioritizing our needs and designing long-term improvements, so that we will be “shovel ready” when the economy improves and additional capital funds are available.
Thank you again for your interest in our state park system. As always, I am truly appreciative for the tremendous support that members of the Legislature have provided to our agency and I welcome any questions.
OPRHP – Calling All Kids! State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey Encourages Kids to Visit a State Park on May 21!
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Kid's Tennis at Riverbank State Park. Photo Credit: Charles O'Neal
National Kids to Parks Day Promotes Outdoor Activity at our Nation’s Public Parks
OPRHP – ALBANY, NY – 05/09/2011 – New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey encouraged children around the state to visit a park for outdoor fun and play on Saturday, May 21st. Children nationwide will take part in a grassroots movement that day to celebrate America’s parks through play as they participate in the National Park Trust’s first annual National Kids to Parks Day.
“Regularly visiting state parks for play and adventure not only encourages a healthy lifestyle, but can instill in children a lifelong commitment to nature and the environment. It is my hope that children, the future stewards of our environment, become inspired by all the wondrous things they will do and discover in their favorite parks, ” Commissioner Harvey said.
“From playgrounds to trails, our parks are brimming with countless opportunities for outdoor play–take a hike or a bike ride on a lakeside trail, search for shells on the beach or listen for bird calls on a nature walk,” Harvey suggested. “Our parks are made for play, and we are proud to be a part of this nationwide effort to encourage fun physical activity and nature awareness among our youth.
“Kids around the country are getting involved in the effort by signing an online pledge to visit a park. New Yorkers can sign the pledge by following the Kids to Parks Day link on the State Parks website, www.nysparks.com. While there, visitors can plan their visit, search the calendar of events for a fun activity at their favorite park, and learn more about state parks. After their visit, families are encouraged to post pictures and stories about their trip on the State Parks Facebook page.
“The National Park Trust is a leader in the growing movement to promote children’s health by encouraging outdoor play in our public parks. I am thrilled that New York State Parks is joining the effort and we welcome children to our parks not only on May 21st but every day of the year!,” said Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky, Chair of the New York State Council of Parks. Endorsed by the America’s State Parks, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), National Education Association (NEA), Children’s National Medical Center, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, US Army Corps of Engineers, and Children & Nature Network, Kids to Parks Day is an effort to spotlight the importance of outdoor activity in promoting children’s health. For more information about the National Park Trust’s Kids to Parks Day visit www.buddybison.org/.
The New York State Office of Parks New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 178 state parks and 35 historic sites. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456, visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
Rose Harvey: Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Rose Harvey
Citing her “experience and knowledge as well as her expertise creating countless cost-effective parks, playgrounds and open spaces in underserved communities,” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo nominated Rose Harvey to serve as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in January 2011.
For 27 years, Ms. Harvey held multiple leadership positions with The Trust for Public Land, beginning as a community organizer and rising to Senior Vice President and Regional Director of the Mid-Atlantic Region and finally as National Director of Urban Programs. Serving as Regional Director for 17 years, she led a 50 person staff in an eight-state region that, each year, purchased about $75 million of conservation lands and, annually designed and developed 10 to 12 new urban parks with and for underserved communities. Under her leadership, TPL’s Mid- Atlantic Region – with community partners – designed and developed over 300 city parks, gardens and playgrounds, and purchased over a billion dollars of conservation lands to help create or enhance another 500 State, regional, rural and metropolitan parks like Woodlawn State Park, Green Lakes State Park, and Sterling Forest State Park in New York State.
Ms. Harvey most recently served as a senior fellow at the Jonathan Rose Companies, and a McCluskey Fellow and Lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
She serves on the Board of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Yale Leadership Advisory Council. In addition to multiple state and national awards for her environmental stewardship and advocacy for open space and parks, Ms. Harvey has written articles and op/eds in numerous national media outlets and industry trade journals.
Rose holds a B.A. from Colorado College and an M.E.S. from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (FES). Her hobbies include family excursions (to State Parks), basketball, tennis, and hiking. (Source: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation web site – http://nysparks.state.ny.us/about/biography.aspx)
Save Riverbank 