In this issue:

• Give back to parks & trails: two volunteer opportunities
• We did it! Final state budget boosts state parks and EPF
• Advocates speak out for trails, bicycling and walking
• PTNY selects park and historic site friends groups for assistance
• Thank you to Green Partners Time Warner and YNN
• Ulster County weighing rail trail options
• Local parkland under siege
• PTNY grant raises visibility of Central New York conservation group
• Protect the Palisades

Give back to parks & trails: two upcoming volunteer opportunities

I Love My Park Day - May 4

Online volunteer registration for I Love My Park Day is now

Watch this short video on I Love My Park Day produced by our Television Media Sponsors Time Warner Cable Sports Channel and YNN.

Parks & Trails New York, in collaboration with the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, is coordinating the event at the statewide level, with cleanup, improvement and beautification projects organized by Friends groups and park staff.

Read Governor Cuomo's invitation to all New Yorkers to volunteer on I Love My Park Day.

Visit the I Love My Park Day website to find an event near you and register to be a part of this exciting day. Register by April 22 and you could win a $100 camping gift card to NY State Parks!

Canal Clean Sweep April 19-21

More than 2,000 volunteers have already committed to help clean up the NYS Canal System and Canalway Trail as part of

Canal Clean Sweep 2013.  Will you be one of them?  With nearly 100 events, there are many ways you can help.

You can still organize an event in your community, but we need to hear from you soon. Register an event online or email Elijah Yearick to learn how to join an already scheduled event.

We did it! Final state budget includes boost to state parks and EPF

Critical health and safety repairs will continue at State Parks thanks to Governor Cuomo and the Legislature. The final state budget for FY2013-2014 provides $90 million for infrastructure improvements at state parks and historic sites in every region of the state, providing an infusion of capital for the second year in a row. Plus, for the first time parks are included in the state's five-year capital plan to the tune of $90 million annually.

The final budget also increases the Environmental Protection Fund to $153 million, providing a much-needed boost for programs that protect parks and farms, support local recycling programs, enhance trails, and more.

These investments in parks and the environment will keep New York moving forward by creating jobs, protecting and enhancing important natural areas, and improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers. Read PTNY's full press statement on the final budget.

Advocates speak out for trails, bicycling and walking

New Yorkers for Active Transportation's (NY4AT) first Advocacy Day brought together dozens of lawmakers, agency officials, and trails advocates from across the state to learn more about the new federal transportation bill, MAP-21.  The day began at a legislative breakfast where NYS Department of Transportation Chief Financial Officer Ron Epstein outlined his agency's plan for using MAP-21 funding and Nick Donohue, Policy Director for the national advocacy organization, Transportation for America, recommended actions that New York could take to maximize its use of MAP-21 funds to create infrastructure that supports active transportation. 

Following the breakfast, teams of advocates visited lawmakers to explain more about MAP-21 and ask them to send a letter to Governor Cuomo and NYSDOT Commissioner McDonald urging them to provide adequate funding for trails, complete streets, and bicycle-pedestrian programs.  Since Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School no longer have dedicated funding with MAP-21, New York lawmakers must now take an active role in ensuring that NYSDOT continues to support these important programs. 

Even if you couldn't make it for Advocacy Day, you can still contact your state Senator and Assemblyperson to discuss MAP-21 and the benefits of funding trails and community infrastructure that supports bicycling and walking. Ask them to show their support by sending our letter to the Governor and Commissioner McDonald.  

PTNY selects park and historic site friends groups for new technical assistance program

PTNY recently announced the selection of two NY State Park and Historic Site Friends groups to receive targeted technical assistance through the NYS Park Friends Technical Assistance Program (TAP).

The two groups selected in this inaugural year of the program are the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, located in Yonkers, and the Friends of Caleb Smith Park Preserve on Long Island. PTNY will work one-on-one with these Friends groups over the next year to help strengthen their organizations and enhance their efforts to support state parks and historic sites. Learn more.

Thank you to Green Partners YNN and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel

We are proud to welcome Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and YNN as television media sponsors of I Love My Park Day.

YNN, a part of Time Warner Cable's News & Local Programming Division, is a 24-hour news channel that covers local news, weather, sports, politics and arts throughout Upstate New York. 

Time Warner Cable SportsChannel is the home of local sports, including collegiate and high school full game coverage and in-depth team, athlete and coach interviews. The station has been bringing viewers years of robust coverage of youth sports such as soccer, basketball, football, hockey, volleyball, baseball, softball, track and field, field hockey and water polo.

"YNN and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel are excited to support this year's I Love My Park Day. As we cover all of New York State, it's a fabulous opportunity to give back to our parks and it fits so well with the geographic footprint of our channels," said Teri Parks, Marketing Manager, TWC News & Local Programming.

Ulster County weighing rail trail options

In October, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein proposed developing a rail trail along a section of the former Ulster & Delaware (U & D) Railroad between the City of Kingston and the Ashokan Reservoir. The corridor is currently owned by the county and leased to the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR). Under the county's plan, the scenic railroad would continue operating between Boiceville and Phoenicia and a trail would be built parallel to the rail line. Other sections of the corridor would be developed as either a multi-use or hiking trail.

Several years ago a rail with trail feasibility study suggested the possibility of a side by side facility along the entire ROW, a concept supported by CMRR. Parks & Trails New York and many other organizations feel that the rail with trail option would be difficult and extremely expensive to achieve along the entire corridor due to physical constraints such as steep slopes and several bridge crossings and the high cost to engineer and construct new accessible trail at several locations. PTNY also believes that developing the complete rail with trail option, which might include on-road sections, will not attract the number of users and tourism dollars as the continuous rail trail only option. Read more in our letter to the County Legislature.

The U&D line was identified by the Kingston Land Trust's trails committee as one of several potential rail trail connections into the City of Kingston.  Parks & Trails New York is currently working with the Kingston Land Trust  to develop multiple trail connections to and within Kingston through our Healthy Trails Healthy People program. 

As a recent New York Times article pointed out, parkland in New York is under siege (Tennis Association Seeks Parkland, and Gets a Fight). Flushing Meadows Corona Park started as a 1,000-acre park but development has chipped away at the land available to the public so now there are just over 300 acres open to the public.

The problem of park alienation, however, is not unique to Flushing. Parkland across New York State is at risk, particularly in urban areas where land is scarce.

In New York, the courts have held that park alienation requires permission from the State Legislature. While oftentimes the legislation includes provisions for replacement parkland or the dedication of funds for parks, the process is inconsistent.

Parks & Trails New York believes it is time for a more rigorous review process that codifies the public trust doctrine and protects our community parks from death by a thousand cuts. A bill in the New York State Legislature introduced by Senator Serrano and Assemblyman Englebright, A. 5539/S. 1916, would do just this. Ask your legislators to support the bill and let them know that citizens won't stand for the gradual disappearance of our precious parkland.

A $1,500 PTNY Growing the Grassroots capacity building grant helped Central New York's Great Swamp Conservancy, Inc. spread the word more widely about its efforts to assist landowners in managing 6,000 acres restored as "Forever Wild" on the southeastern shore of Oneida Lake.  Grant funds were used to produce a new membership brochure and full-color newsletters. Volunteer efforts to widely distribute these new materials have resulted in membership growth of 40%, 10 new volunteers, and a doubling of attendance at some events.

 "We now have professional products that we are proud to distribute. We are very thankful for PTNY's assistance," said Michael Patane, Great Swamp Conservancy President.

Simulated View  (Click to enlarge)

The natural beauty of the Palisades, scenic cliffs rising high above the Hudson River, has been protected for over 100 years. However, views of the Palisades could soon include skyscrapers. LG Electronics plans to build a high-rise building in Englewood, NJ that would be visible from many places and, at 143 feet, is well above the 35-foot limit other companies in the area have respected. The Protect the Palisades coalition, of which PTNY is a member, is working to stop this intrusion on the scenic integrity of the Palisades. For more information on the coalition and what you can do to help, visit the website.