Oswego, NY -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said millions of dollars that have been sitting in the federal treasury should be used to keep state parks like Fort Ontario from the state chopping block during budget time. With a backdrop of British and American soldier reenactors, Schumer came to Fort Ontario Monday afternoon to say Central New York cannot...
View full sizeU.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (left) greets Mitch Maniccia, of Oswego, dressed as a British Army Grenadire, after a press conference at Fort Ontario in Oswego. Schumer stated there was federal grant money available that could restore New York State's parks budget crisis.Oswego, NY -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said millions of dollars that have been sitting in the federal treasury should be used to keep state parks like Fort Ontario from the state chopping block during budget time.
With a backdrop of British and American soldier reenactors, Schumer came to Fort Ontario Monday afternoon to say Central New York cannot face another season of uncertainty on whether the fort and other parks will have the money to open. He said the fort itself brings about $13 million to the local economy and "even a threat of parks closing is bad."
Under a large white tent keeping out the heavy rainfall, Schumer told those on hand that the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which consists of royalties paid by oil companies for drilling on federal land, contains $900 million that is supposed to be used for buying and maintaining park land.
He want to use New York's share of this money to help state keep parks like Chittenango Falls, Pixley Falls and Fort Ontario open during the state's dire fiscal times.
He said he is pushing this measure as part of the energy bill the Senate will vote on in September. He urged the public to contact their congressmen in the House of Representatives to support the bill.
"We can't have all the nail biting each year" on whether there will be enough state money to keep the parks open, Schumer said. While state finances were bad this year, it is going to be worse next year, he said.
The last time any of this Land and Water Conservation Fund money was shared with states for their parks was 1979,Schumer said. That year, New York received $24 million.
This year, closing the parks was going to save about $16 million, to the money would be more than enough to help the state keep the parks open.
"We love our parks.They are a vital part of our economy and a vital part of our life," Schumer said. He noted he, his wife and two daughters just finished a vacation traveling through the Finger Lakes wineries and historic sites like the Seward House in Auburn, fishing in Lake Ontario and hiking in the Adirondacks.
"We know how important the parks are," he said.