Valley Stream State Park to close?

Valley Stream State Park is among 10 state parks on Long Island that could be closed this summer as a result of a proposed $29 million budget cut facing the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

In addition to those closures, and perhaps as many as 100 others throughout the state, admission fees at some beaches and other venues could increase. “We are in the process of reviewing operations in our 213 properties throughout the state in order to identify savings,” said parks spokeswoman Eileen Larrabee. “Raising admissions fees is under consideration.”

Larrabee said that a decision may be made within the next two weeks. She explained that the state’s parks will be evaluated individually based on geography, usage and how much money could be saved through closure. She added that 85 percent of the department’s budget goes to operating parks. “There is no avoiding operational reductions,” she said.

Valley Stream State Park in North Valley Stream, off the Southern State Parkway and Fletcher Avenue, offers basketball, bocce and volleyball courts and picnic areas, along with nature and cross-country ski trails. It also has a walking course, a half-mile loop with 15 stations where walkers can do a variety of stretching and strengthening exercises, as well as a nature trail that children can use to explore the various habitats within the park — the smallest state park on Long Island.

David Sabatino, a Valley Stream resident who started Envision Valley Stream, a community visioning organization, said that closing the park would take away a unique educational opportunity for children, bird watchers and bicyclists. “I grew up in and around the state park,” Sabatino said. “It would be like losing a part of my childhood if the park closed. I think the rest of the community, even for those that don’t use it often, enjoy having it in our community.”

Wheeler Avenue School uses the park each June for its year-end primary picnic. More than 250 children in grades 1 to 3 and their families gather for a barbecue, arts and crafts, games and fitness activities. “We’ve gone there as long as I can remember,” Principal Christine Zerillo said. “And the parents who went to Wheeler, they used to go to the state park.”

Zerillo said that visits to the park help students to enhance their science education through the exploration of trees, plants and animals. “I’m hoping that they’ll rethink it,” she said of the possible closing of the park. “It’s a beautiful facility. I hope that we can still have that available to us.”

Tara McCabe Casucci said she remembers going to the park for the Wheeler picnics, but she acknowledged that she is not a regular visitor. “I can’t say my life would be lacking,” she said of the possibility that it could be closed. “I wouldn’t want to see housing there, but how much is it really used?”

This would be the first time in its history that the state parks office closed an entire park or parks, Larrabee said. In the past, budget cuts have resulted in partial closures or elimination of some services. The parks department has reduced hours, shortened seasons and closed pools or beaches at larger parks, but this year’s proposed budget cut is far more drastic than those in the past. Last year, the department’s budget was cut by $5 million.

But, Larrabee added, just like all other state offices and agencies, the parks office is “dealing with the economic realities facing the state.”

Assemblyman Tom Alfano (R-North Valley Stream) opposes the closures. “Quite frankly, it’s a disgrace that these kinds of decisions are being made,” Alfano said. “These kinds of decisions are what happens when you have no system of checks and balances. Cutting parks is a spineless way to balance a budget. It hurts the people and just doesn’t make sense.”

Sabatino said he thinks the community needs to rally its support to keep Valley Stream State Park open. “Besides writing to our state elected officials and the parks department,” he said, “I think we can show the state park workers our support by letting them know how much we enjoy the park and what a great job they do maintaining it.”

Lee Landor contributed to this story.