What to Know
- NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that 71.5 million visitors to parks and historic sites across New York state in 2017
- 2017 attendance was up by 950,000 visitors compared to the previous year
- Cuomo said it was the seventh straight year of attendance growth for the system of 180 state parks and 35 historic sites
Attendance at New York state parks rose last year once again, with 71.5 million visitors to parks and historic sites across New York state.
That's according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced last week that 2017 attendance was up by 950,000 visitors compared to the previous year. The Democrat says it marked the seventh straight year of attendance growth for the system of 180 state parks and 35 historic sites.
"State Parks energize our local economies by inviting visitors from all over to explore the history, beauty and great outdoors found in communities across New York," Cuomo said in a statement.
The state is in the midst of NY Parks 2020, Cuomo's $900 million initiative to upgrade park infrastructure as well as historic buildings, campgrounds and trails.
Since the inception of the NY Parks 2020 program, more than 700 improvement projects have been completed or are underway.
The projects for this year include completing the upgrades to Niagara Falls State Park, the first state park in the nation.
Local
Cuomo said that the state modernized the oldest park system in the country "by making strategic investments" to help bring "more and more visitors" to New York.
