ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Coca-Cola state park? July 4 fireworks at a state beach underwritten by General Electric? Hiking trails brought to you by Nike?
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said Monday that temporary corporate sponsorships could save the state parks and historic sites that might be closed or see reduced services because of New York's fiscal crisis.
The Democrat, who is considering a run for governor this year, said the state should seek bids from the private sector and consider privatizing some or all operations. The businesses could take over or contribute to the cost of running the parks in exchange for being identified as sponsors until the state shores up its finances.
The state parks office has recommended closing 41 of 178 parks while reducing services at 23. They've also proposed shutting 14 of the state's 35 historic sites and reducing services at one. The proposal includes a $4 million in increase for fees at facilities that remain open.
Other cash-strapped states are facing similar problems. Idaho may raise park fees, Washington may close 40 parks and Pennsylvania fought back an effort to close some parks, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. And although some other states have considered selling off parks or adding corporate sponsors for advertising, nothing major came of the proposals, in part because of strong opposition from environmental advocates.
"The state presently engages in some privatization in concession stands. This would take it to the next step," Levy said Monday. "We're not talking about a permanent situation. It's a temporary fix to ensure the parks stay open."
Privatization would put companies in charge of running facilities, which could include setting fees and hours of service, doing maintenance and hiring private-sector workers. Sponsorship could be as simple as paying for advertising for a specific offering, such as a beach, or for an event, like a fireworks display.
Levy said difficult issues, such as hiring, could be avoided because the alternative would be no one at all working at those parks. The state constitution prohibits the sale of state park land.
"Creating a public-private partnership may be an ideal way to allow our residents to enjoy the parks this summer," he said.
"We're willing to talk to anybody," said Eileen Larrabee, spokeswoman for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. She noted the state already has some partnerships, such as with Buffalo-based Delaware North Cos., which operates some parts of the Niagara Falls park and the Gideon Putnam hotel in the Saratoga Spa State Park.
"If there was a demonstrated interest by any entity that through a donation would keep these facilities open to the public, we would certainly pursue it," she said.
But operating a park is expensive, with maintenance, labor and liability insurance driving up costs.
And some warn Levy's idea comes too late to spare parks from the cuts needed to help close the state's $8.2 billion deficit.
"There's just not enough time to think intelligently about this," said Robin Dropkin, executive director of Parks & Trails New York, an advocacy group. "It's a great sound bite, but when you think about it, it's not so easy."
She said corporate sponsorship and privatization takes months, with complex legal agreements required to assure the public is served well.
"We to have an open mind and think outside the box," she said, "but getting corporate sponsorship for anything has been hard."
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer once sought to privatize the operation of the state lottery, leasing it for billions of dollars to be dedicated to higher education. The credit crunch and meltdown on Wall Street dried up much of the borrowing that would have been necessary for that deal, which appears to have been shelved.
