Relative to Chimney Bluffs, since I've never seen any attending employee there, I'm assuming that the majority of the savings would be in reducing the unbelievably expansive, needless, lawn mowing. As opposed to closing the whole park, I'd suggest something like reducing from the current rough (useless) 200' to 300' berms around the paths to something useful, like 2'. Is that too logical, or is the bureaucratic and union red tape to do that too expensive? I'm just trying to preserve some payback to me and mine for the taxes I pay.

With his action today, the Governor shut down or cut back on more than one-third of New York's parks and almost half of our historic sites. These parks and sites are visited by 55 million people and generate $2 billion in economic activity every year. The parks support 20,000 jobs. The State estimates it will save $6 million for cutting parks funding. Governor Paterson's math doesn't add up.

Why doesn't the simple minded gov. put the parks on the sales block to sell them to the private sector and put them back on the tax roll? If they make that kind of money for that kind of investment, seems to me that they would bring a pretty good buck. Oh damn, there I go again. Forgot that common sense has been legislated away...please forgive me.

The proposal makes sense.
When the budget is $8+ BILLION in the red, it's important to cut EVERYWHERE. If "important" things like roads and schools are going to be cut, then $6M from the Parks and Rec budget's important, too.
We can't afford the budget we've given ourselves. We really need to cut cut cut cut cut. Too many programs are unproductive and help too few people to be worth spending so much on. now that Paterson's not running, he needs to go ahead and spend all his political capital getting NY fiscally sound and establish a legacy of positive change that he can take to the people 6 years from now (after we've had a chance to assess) and run for Senate or something. He can afford to be heartless now, and he should bloody well do that - the state can afford no less.

I agree with Larry Rogers on some of what he said. Cuts DO need to be made to the parks system if they are also having to cut the funding for vital sectors education, health care, and/or transportation. But I think we should also see the reasoning behind keeping them open at all costs which William VanEe puts forth: Which is that they pay for themselves. Parks should actually to be able to earn more money than it costs to run them. So let's look at re-evaluating the whole system at the Bureaucratic level, and find ways to allow parks to operate naturally, organically, if you will. All it takes is a few rangers and a volunteer crew to help maintain the park grounds and these parks can remain open (or in a semi-open state) so people can still enjoy them as a resource of outdoor recreation and entertainment. All I'm saying is, it would be a cryin' shame for the State of New York to have to spend money putting up fences and boarding up buildings to keep people out of these beautiful natural environments. Let the parks remain free, open and accessible to anyone who chooses to come visit them!