WHO:            New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
                      State and Local Community Leaders and Partners

WHAT:           A First Look Inside and Outside the New Grafton Lakes State Park Welcome Center Set To Open In May

WHEN:          Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE:        Grafton Lakes State Park
                       100 Grafton Lakes State Park Way
                       Cropseyville, NY 12052

On Wednesday afternoon all are invited to a sneak preview inside the new Grafton Lakes State Park Welcome Center designed to be a gathering place that will host enhanced educational, recreational and volunteer programming in the heart of the park. Following a short ceremony and weather permitting all will be invited on a brief tour around the new Center to explore the new connector trails and playground which features a kid friendly fire tower converted from a real decommissioned park fire tower.

Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, New York State is making a historic commitment to improving and expanding access to outdoor recreation. The Governor's NY Parks 2020 program is a multi-year commitment to leverage $900 million in private and public funding for State Parks from 2011 to 2020. The 2018-19 State Budget allocates $90 million toward this initiative.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more 250 individual parks, historic sites, golf courses, recreational trails and boat launches, which are visited by 71 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov.