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Governor
Cuomo Announces Groundbreaking
of
$3.2 Million Grafton Lakes State Park Center
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Project Complements
Governor’s $900 Million NY Parks 2020 Initiative
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Albany,
NY – October 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo announces that construction has begun on a $3.2 million
Grafton
Lakes State Park Center, which will provide a new year-round public
gathering space for enhanced educational, recreational and volunteer programming
in the heart of the park.
“From
beautiful ponds to miles of trails, Grafton Lakes is a jewel of the state
park system, and this new center will offer more ways for visitors to enjoy
this great park,” Governor Cuomo said. “This administration has made record
investments to rebuild and modernize our park infrastructure, and I encourage
New Yorkers and visitors alike to see what our parks have to offer all
year-round.”
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Renderings
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In
addition to housing the park’s offices and an info center, the 5,000-square-foot
Grafton Lakes State Park Center will provide comfortable space to host
year-round educational, recreational and volunteer activities. The facility
will be situated at the north end of the Long Pond Beach parking lot to
be convenient to the heart of activity in the park. Construction is expected
to be completed next year. Renderings of the center are available here.
Features include:
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Activity
space to expand and enhance the park’s environmental education programs,
which already serve about 7,000 children and families annually;
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Exhibit
area to highlight the ecology of the park and the Rensselaer Plateau;
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Outdoor
patio with terraced seating and fire pit as well as an indoor wood-burning
hearth;
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Information
desk to help visitors explore the park’s expansive trail network and other
features;
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Sustainable
design, including a photovoltaic system, geothermal heating and cooling,
LED and natural lighting, low-flow plumbing features and storm-water controls;
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Centrally
located park offices and public restrooms.
Rose
Harvey, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation
and Historic Preservation said, “Grafton Lakes State Park is a great
place for Capital Region families to gain a first-hand connection to nature,
and this new facility will help inspire and teach the next generation of
outdoor enthusiasts and environmental stewards. It’s another example of
how Governor Cuomo’s revitalization of the park system is connecting new
generations of visitors and tourists to these incredible places.”
Rensselaer
County Executive Kathleen M. Jimino said, “From hiking, boating, and
swimming in the summer months, hunting in the fall and winter and fishing
all year long, in addition to the year round education programming, Grafton
Lakes State Park provides tremendous opportunities to residents and visitors
alike. I want to thank the Governor and NYS
Parks for their investment into this local treasure that will help
provide an even greater experience to all those visiting.”
Dorothy
Surprise, President of Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park, said, “The
Friends of Grafton are very excited about the new Welcome Center. The opportunity
to provide additional activities for patrons at the center will help foster
our mission of attracting participants and engaging the public and community
in our organization.”
Grafton
Lakes State Park
Grafton
Lakes State Park, visited by 250,000 people annually, sits on the forested
plateau between the Taconic Mountains and the Hudson Valley. The 2,500-acre
park boasts six scenic ponds, including Long Pond, where the large, sandy
beach is a popular summer swimming destination. Visitors also picnic, walk
the nature trails, hike, bike or ride horses along the 25 miles of park
trails, and canoe, kayak, and fish in the ponds. In winter, the trails
are groomed for snowmobilers, and visitors may also snowshoe, cross-country
ski, ice skate or go ice fishing.
NY
Parks 2020
Under
Governor Cuomo’s leadership, New York State is making a historic commitment
to improving and expanding access to outdoor recreation. The Governor’s
NY
Parks 2020 program is a multi-year commitment to leverage $900 million
in private and public funding for State Parks from 2011 to 2020. The Governor’s
2016-17 Executive Budget allocates $90 million toward this initiative.
The
park improvements reflect Governor Cuomo’s Connect Kids to Parks program
to draw more youth to the outdoors, which includes free day-use park entry
to fourth-grade students and their families and a new transportation grant
program to help schoolchildren visit state parks.
The
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees
180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 65 million
people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas,
call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com.
Governor’s
Press Office
Contact:
press.office@exec.ny.gov
Albany:
518-474-8418
New
York City: 212-681-4640 |
