Indicator Type	Information	Status
Beach Access	6	4
Water Quality	5	4
Beach Erosion	6	-
Erosion Response	-	5
Beach Fill	5	-
Shoreline Structures	5	4
Beach Ecology	2	-
Surfing Areas	2	7
Website	5	-
Coastal Development	{{{19}}}	{{{20}}}
Sea Level Rise	{{{21}}}	{{{22}}}

Policies

New York State Coastal Management Program Policy 19 is to "Protect, maintain, and increase the level and types of access to public water-related recreation resources and facilities." This policy calls for balancing the level of access to a resource or facility, the capacity of a resource or facility, and the protection of natural resources. Public beaches, boating facilities, fishing areas, and waterfront parks are the water-related recreational resources that will receive priority for improved access. Specific guidelines are used to determine the consistency of a proposed action with this policy.

New York State Coastal Policy 20 states:

"Access to the publicly owned foreshore and to lands immediately adjacent to the foreshore or the water's edge that are publicly owned shall be provided and it shall be provided in a manner compatible with adjoining uses. [...] The following guidelines will be used in determining the consistency of a proposed action with this policy:
Existing access from adjacent or proximate public lands or facilities to existing public coastal lands and/or waters shall not be reduced, nor shall the possibility of increasing access in the future from adjacent or nearby public lands or facilities to public coastal lands and/or waters be eliminated, unless such actions are demonstrated to be of overriding regional or Statewide public benefit or, in the latter case, estimates of future use of these lands and waters are too low to justify maintaining or providing increased access.

The existing level of public access within public coastal lands or waters shall not be reduced or eliminated.

a. A reduction in the existing level of public access includes, but is not limited to, the following:

i. Access is reduced or eliminated because of hazardous crossings required at new or altered transportation facilities, electric power transmission lines, or similar linear facilities.

ii. Access is reduced or blocked completely by any public developments.

Public access from the nearest public roadway to the shoreline and along the coast shall be provided by new land use or development, except where (a) it is inconsistent with public safety, military security, or the protection of identified fragile coastal resources; (b) adequate access exists within one-half mile; or (c) agriculture would be adversely affected. Such access shall not be required to be open to public use until a public agency or private association agrees to accept responsibility for maintenance and liability of the accessway.

The State will not undertake or directly fund any project which increases access to a water-related resource or facility that is not open to all members of the public.

In their plans and programs for increasing public access, State agencies shall give priority in the following order to projects located: within the boundaries of the Federal-Aid Metropolitan Urban Area and served by public transportation; within the Federal-Aid Metropolitan Urban Area but not served by public transportation; outside the defined Urban Area boundary and served by public transportation; and outside the defined Urban Area boundary but not served by public transportation.

Proposals for increased public access to coastal lands and waters shall be analyzed according to the following factors:

a. The level of access to be provided should be in accord with estimated public use. If not, the proposed level of access to be provided shall be deemed inconsistent with the policy.

b. The level of access to be provided shall not cause a degree of use which would exceed the physical capability of the coastal lands or waters. If this were determined to be the case, the proposed level of access to be provided shall be deemed inconsistent with the policy."

Long Island Sound Policies include:

Policy 9 - Provide for public access to, and recreational use of, coastal waters, public lands, and public resources of the Long Island Sound coastal area.

The Long Island Sound Coastal Management Program contains the following statements:

Public access can be improved by enhancing existing public access or by establishing new public access. Opportunities exist to establish: public open spaces on the waterfront which allow a wide range of recreational uses, waterfront recreation facilities and features to attract people to the waterfront, or an access circulation system that links waterfront areas and the business district to the waterfront.
Public access on the Sound shore can be increased by creating a system of greenways and blueways to link public recreation and access areas.

Cities, towns, and villages along major coastal and inland waterways are encouraged to prepare a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) in cooperation with DOS. An LWRP is a locally prepared, comprehensive land and water use plan for a community’s natural, public, working, and developed waterfront. An LWRP addresses issues important to the community including: public access and recreation opportunities, waterfront redevelopment, natural resources protection, open space preservation, water quality protection, erosion hazards management, and habitat restoration. Planning to enhance public access and recreational opportunities is a component of every LWRP. Once approved by the New York Secretary of State and federal office of Coastal Resources Management, the LWRP serves as an action plan to achieve the community’s goal for its waterfront. Funding to advance implementation of approved LWRPs, such as construction of public waterfront access projects, is available under Title 11 of the NYS Environmental Protection Fund.

Several papers have been written concerning the applicability of the Public Trust Doctrine to beach access in New York. These include The Use of the Public Trust Doctrine as a Management Tool over Public and Private Lands (Salkin, 1994), Towards Environmental Entrepreneurship: Restoring the Public Trust Doctrine in New York (Benn, 2006), and The Future Application of the Public Trust Doctrine in New York State: Legislative Initiatives and Beyond (Markell, 2010).

Information about New York's open space conservation and land acquisition programs is available at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/317.html

Also see the Local Open Space Planning Guide.

In New York City, the city’s parks department prohibits swimming at the city's nine beaches, including four on Staten Island, after Labor Day, a rule that is enforced by its officers and the city’s Police Department, though somewhat intermittently, which means devoted beachgoers have little trouble going undetected into the water. Disobeying the no-swimming regulation could result in a $50 summons, which could increase to $200 if not paid on time. The Parks Department is considering a proposal to keep beaches and pools open after Labor Day. Councilman Mark Levine (D-Manhattan), chairman of the parks committee, introduced legislation that would expand the season until the first day of school and on weekends through the end of September. The proposed law allows the Parks Department to keep beaches and pools open even longer and on weekdays in September, weather-permitting. More on this.

Site Inventory

41% of the shoreline in New York is publicly owned, according to Pogue P. and Lee V., 1999," "Providing Public Access to the Shore: The Role of Coastal Zone Management Programs," Coastal Management 27:219-237. NYSDOS staff states that this number has not been verified by the state. They believe that it is a reasonable estimate for the Atlantic Coast of New York and New York City, but too high for the Great Lakes and the rest of the New York Shoreline. They note that all of the shoreline below mean-high-water on Long Island is in public ownership.

This document identifies 298 public access sites. This corresponds to about one public access site for every 9 miles of shoreline. Again, this information has not been confirmed by the state. Public access is quite variable along the shore. For example, on the open Atlantic Coast of Long Island, there are long stretches of lands in public ownership, like Fire Island National Seashore, Jones Beach State Park, Robert Moses State Park, and many municipal parks and road ends. These are interspersed with private properties. On the Great Lakes shoreline and Hudson River shoreline the amount of public land is less.

An inventory of beach access points in New York is not readily available, but access data and information can be found in some special reports and publications. An example is the Long Island Sound Coastal Management Program document (January 1999). This document has several recommendations relating to improving access, including:

Complete a coastal network of community and regional greenways and blueways that link public waterfront access points, the foreshore, the nearshore surface waters, and large and small public parks and open spaces to improve access to the coast and to coastal recreation facilities.
Maintain the public interest in public trust lands along the Sound coast by identifying these lands and ensuring that all private use of these lands comports with the public trust doctrine.
Reassert public trust rights on public trust lands that are used in a manner that is incompatible with the public trust doctrine.
Develop educational materials to inform the public and local governments on coastal resources and issues that affect the wise management and use of those resources.
Prepare and distribute a guide to public access and recreational areas and facilities for the Long Island Sound region.

The New York State Coastal Atlas presents a series of maps which delineate the State’s Coastal Area Boundary and identify: Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats; Scenic Areas of Statewide Significance; federally-owned lands; and Native American owned lands. New York State’s Coastal Area has been divided into four geographic regions: Long Island, New York City, Hudson Valley and Great Lakes. Index maps for each of the four regions preface a regional map section. Each region index identifies maps by the abbreviation of the geographic region and a number in series. Each map series starts at number one and continues to the end of the region. For example, the Long Island region begins at LI1 and continues to LI72.

Maps included in this atlas are based on New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) 1:24000 scale planimetric quadrangle maps reduced in size 25 percent to a scale of 1:30000. Each Atlas map represents an area covered by approximately one half of a DOT quadrangle and uses that quadrangle’s name, with “North” or “South” to denote which half of the quadrangle is represented. Where the full extent of the coastal boundary is represented on half of the quadrangle, the “North” or “South” designation does not follow the quadrangle name. Federally excluded lands and Native American owned lands were extracted from New York State DOT 1:24000 county base map files.

The Coastal Area Boundary is shown on Atlas maps as a wide light blue line. Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats are shown as a dark green border with a lighter green stipple within the area. Scenic Areas of Statewide Significance are shown as a rose-colored boundary. Federally excluded lands are shown as gray, and Native American owned lands are shown as brown hatched areas.

In 2008-2009 the State’s Environmental Protection Fund Local Waterfront Revitalization Program awarded grants totaling $23.3 million for 88 projects across New York State. These awards implement existing Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs (LWRPs), covering a variety of waterfront planning, design and construction projects that focus on economic, community, environmental and recreational improvements, including 9 awards to prepare or update Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs. A list of Approved Coastal Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs is also available.

The Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) 2009-2013, prepared by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), provides statewide policy direction to fulfill the agency's recreation and preservation mandate. The OPRHP and the Department of Environmental Conservation are the two primary state agencies that manage land resources and provide recreational opportunities. The New York State Canal Corporation, Department of Transportation and Office of General Services are also land managers. The updated SCORP serves as a status report and as an overall guideline for recreation resource preservation, planning and development through the year 2013. The document is also used to guide the allocation of state and federal funds for recreation and open space projects.

The SCORP analyzes the demand for recreation facilities. The latest recreation survey indicates that relaxing in the park continues to be the recreation activity enjoyed by most New York residents, followed by walking and jogging, visiting museums and historic sites, swimming, biking, camping, and boating. Other activities such as bird watching, snowshoeing, horseback riding and surfing are equally important but have fewer participants. The general public’s top five expressed recreational facilities needed were: swimming pools and beaches, trails, facilities for picnicking, playgrounds, and open space; while park professional felt the top needs were: trails, facilities for picnicking, nature study facilities, fields for sports, and fishing access points. Both the general public and park professionals indicated they believe that the government should increase and/or create additional public access to water resources such as lakes, streams, beaches, and ocean fronts.

Both the north and south shores of Long Island have state, county and municipal beaches with public access for all, for a fee. The south shore also has federal, state, county, and municipal beaches open to all for a fee. The south shore faces the open ocean and, therefore, has waves. Some local beaches admit non-residents for a fee.^[1]

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has information on beaches. NYC Parks & Recreation maintains 14 miles of beaches, including two surf beaches located at Rockaway Beach, between 67-69 Streets and between 87-92 Streets. Their Website also lists the surf beach rules.

Surfrider NYC worked intensely over several years with elected officials and numerous local residents to establish the first legal surfing beach in the City of New York and overturn an antiquated law which prohibited ocean recreation on NYC beaches from Labor Day to Memorial Day. The Surf Area Designation comes as a relief to many – prior to 2005 surfers and other beachgoers received tickets for surfing, bathing, and simply walking on the beach in the Rockaways. Now local residents and visitors alike will be able to enjoy the waves without fear of breaking the law. The chapter is currently working to expand surfing-only areas.

The Suffolk County (Long Island) Website has information on local beaches, including Smith Point Beach in Shirley and Cupsogue Beach in Westhampton. With more than 100 public beaches located along nearly 1,000 miles of marine coastline, the county provides abundant scenic and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike. The County's Beach Water Quality Monitoring Website provides a map showing the monitored beach locations.

The Nassau County (Long Island) Website has information on local beaches.

According to the comprehensive management plan for the South Shore Estuary Reserve (the barrier islands, mainland, and estuaries along the south shore of Long Island), a 1996 update of prior inventories identified 245 municipally-owned, 22 state-owned, and 18 federally-owned shoreline public access and recreation sites within the Reserve. The sites, ranging in size from less than one acre to more than 5,000 acres, consist of active and passive recreation areas, environmental education centers, and natural habitat preserves. Many of the municipally owned recreation facilities are subject to residency restrictions that favor local residents (this does not mean that non-residents cannot use the site, but rather that they must pay a higher fee); some have physical limitations that affect potential use; and others have lacked adequate maintenance due to fiscal constraints

There are several Websites that one can use to obtain information on parks along the coast. For all New York state-owned parks, information is available at http://www.nysparks.com/parks/ Here you can search by location, region, or amenity/activity (although surfing is not listed) and get a nice summary of park information including directions. According to the New York State Parks (NYSP) Website, there are 163 state parks and 76 developed beaches. For New York federally-owned parks, including the Fire Island National Seashore, information is available at: http://www.nps.gov/state/ny/. Another site is this one: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7809.html

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation publishes information and maps of boat launch sites by county and a complete saltwater fishing guide that has information on where fishing access sites are available around the New York City area.

The Draft South Shore Blueway Plan establishes a water trail along Nassau County’s south shore and is the result of a community-wide trail planning process that identified access points and gaps where further water access is needed to complete the trail. Designed by Going Coastal, Inc. and Cameron Engineering & Associates, LLP to be a blueprint to cover the development, implementation, maintenance and use of the South Shore Blueway Trail, the plan is a collaborative effort of New York State, Nassau County, Village of Freeport, Town of Hempstead and the Town of Oyster Bay. A key element of the new South Shore Blueway Trail Plan is sustainable, American Disability Act compliant access. The plan also proposes developing a branding strategy and provides for interpretive and educational opportunities that will encourage understanding of the south shore ecosystem and maritime heritage.

The New York State Geographic Information Systems Clearinghouse offers extensive information about New York’s Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinating body, the Data Sharing Cooperative, and applications to view and download digital orthographic photographs.

A parcel of private land was recently bought by the Trust for Public Land, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the City of New York. The purchased, undeveloped parcel will become part of the 20-acre Crescent Beach Park on the south shore of Staten Island. In 2004 this same group (TPL, Port Authority, and NYC) purchased the 10-acre Blissenbach Marina on Staten Island's north shore that will be converted into a shorefront, public park. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation manages Rockaway Beach. For more information please contact NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

Beach Attendance Records

Information on beach attendance in New York is compiled and stored by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in Albany, New York. The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation notes that it welcomes 65 million visitors a year to its parks, historic sites, and recreation areas, from Jones Beach to Niagara Falls. Specific information on beach attendance does not appear to be available from their Website.
http://nysparks.state.ny.us/

Economic Evaluation of Beaches

A study by Martin Cantor of Dowling College indicated that municipal and state beach closures from Memorial Day through Aug. 3, 2007 cost Long Island's tourism industry $60 million. Cantor's report estimated the average beachgoer spends $20 a day on parking, food and drinks, and pegged lost car attendance because of closures at nearly $1.9 million during the combined 1,155 lost beach days. Cantor said his conservative report used two people per car. The report contends the closures cost state and local governments $4.8 million in sales tax revenue.

NOAA's Office for Coastal Management (OCM) has written a discussion of the recreational value of beaches, in the context of beach fill projects. In 2009 OCM released Introduction to Economics for Coastal Managers, a basic introduction to economic ideas and methods that can be applied to coastal resource management. The economic concepts provided in this introduction are illustrated through several case studies. Other OCM/Digital Coast publications can be found here.

The following two websites provide information on the economic value of coasts and the ocean throughout the country.

The National Ocean Economics Program (NOEP) provides a full range of the most current economic and socio-economic information available on changes and trends along the U.S. coast and in coastal waters. You can download data on jobs and GDP associated with specific types of coastal activities for each coastal state. You also can download data on commercial fishing and landings. The NOEP made public their fully updated Non-Market Valuation website in September 2008. The largest database in the world of studies documenting the environmental and recreational values of ocean resources, the website now includes 1) an updated methodologies section, 2) frequently asked questions, 3) examples of how Non-Market valuation influences public policy, and 4) an expanded table summarizing valuation estimates from across the United States. In 2014 NOEP released an updated State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies - 2014, which points out that there is an imbalance between the economic importance of coasts and coastal oceans and the federal support for stewardship of these resources. According to the report, coastal states supply over 81 percent of American jobs and contribute $13 trillion to the economy, or 84 percent of GDP. More on this here. The National Ocean Economics Program previously released State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies - 2009, which presents time-series data compiled over the past 10 years that track economic activities, demographics, natural resource production, non-market values, and federal expenditures in the U.S. coastal zone on land and water. The report states that coastal states account for more than 80 percent of the U.S. economy. The most recent report released by NOEP is the State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies - 2016. The Center for the Blue Economy (CBE) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey now houses the National Ocean Economics Program (NOEP).

The website of Restore America's Estuaries has a report The Economic and Market Value of Coasts and Estuaries: What's At Stake?. According to the report, U.S. coasts and estuaries that have been protected and managed in a sustainable way are worth billions. Beaches, coastal communities, ports, and fragile bays are economic engines that drive and support large sectors of the national economy. The report focuses on aspects of coasts and estuaries that are most dependent on ecologically healthy conditions. The authors also examined a growing body of research that reveals the economic consequences of environmental change in coastal and estuary ecosystems.

A report A Review and Summary of Human Use Mapping in the Marine and Coastal Zone was published in December 2010. This report was prepared by ERG for NOAA's Coastal Services Center. The report evaluated different methods and approaches to measure human uses of the coastal and marine environment. The uses were divided into 1) military and industrial uses, 2) consumptive uses (e.g., fishing) and 3) non-consumptive activities (e.g., swimming, surfing, kayaking).

The economic value of beaches can increase or decrease due to a number of factors, including beach width; the presence or absence of amenities such as parking, restrooms or lifeguard services; the suitability of the beach for activities such as surfing or swimming; and the presence or absence of pollution and beach litter. In June 2014 NOAA published an infographic on the high cost of marine debris based on the report Assessing the Economic Benefits of Reductions in Marine Debris: A Pilot Study of Beach Recreation in Orange County, California, which was prepared by Industrial Economics, Inc. for NOAA's Marine Debris Division. It found that having debris on the beach and good water quality are the leading factors in deciding which beach residents visit. Reducing marine debris by even 25 percent at beaches in and near Orange County, California, could save residents approximately $32 million during the summer by not having to travel long distances to other beaches. Beach characteristics were collected for 31 popular Southern California public beaches from San Onofre Beach to Zuma Beach. Orange County residents were also surveyed on their recreation habits, including how many day trips they took to the beach from June - August 2013, where they went, how much it cost them, and which beach characteristics are important to them. The results provided in an estimate if how much Orange County residents would potentially benefit, including how often they visit beaches and how much they would save in travel costs, over a summer season by reducing marine debris at some or all of these 31 beaches. The study focused on Orange County because of the number and variety of beaches, their importance to permanent residents, ease of access, and likelihood that marine debris would be present. Researchers believe that, given the results, the study could be modified for assessing similar coastal communities in the United States.

For additional general discussion of the economic impacts of beaches, please see the article Economic Impact of Beaches.

Perception of Supply and Demand

The Long Island Sound Coastal Management Program reviewed the coast from four perspectives: the developed coast, the natural coast, the public coast, and the working coast. Each was considered for its own intrinsic value, and its interrelationship with the other coasts. Major findings in the Program included:

Open Space - Within the next 20 years, the projected population increase in the Long Island Sound coastal area could result in near "build-out" under current zoning, eliminating many of the open areas that presently exist.
Public Access - Only four major recreational facilities along the Sound coast are open to the general public. Increases in the size and number of docks interfere with public trust rights by obstructing access along the shore and the nearshore waters.

According to the Comprehensive Management Plan for the South Shore Estuary Reserve, street ends abutting the shore can afford the public informal access opportunities. In most cases, however, the lack of parking and objecting neighbors force local officials to restrict use of the street ends. Water-dependent businesses such as marinas or yacht clubs and water-enhanced businesses such as restaurants also provide informal access opportunities. Other factors restrict public access to the Reserve's bays and shores. Legal requirements and administrative mandates protect sensitive coastal resources and endangered species, and affect access to municipal lands in the estuary to a significant degree.

More recently, work has been done for the Reserve through an open space preservation study that identified common objectives (heightened awareness of the value of open space and the pressing need to preserve it) and established a dialogue between various agencies and groups. The South Shore Estuary Reserve CMP has created an Open Space Working Group to coordinate efforts by municipalities, state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and developers.^[2]

The comprehensive management plan for the South Shore Estuary Reserve outlines 17 recommendations to improve shoreline public access and estuary related recreation. They include:

Expand public shoreline access opportunities by increasing the amount of land dedicated to physical and visual access.
Improve and sustain the levels of public access and recreation opportunity at existing sites.
Increase acquisition and preservation of open space.
Create a land trust to facilitate open space acquisition, preservation and management within the Reserve.
Increase the amount of funds dedicated for open space preservation.

See Chapter 4: Expand Public Use and Enjoyment of the Estuary

NOAA's 2008 Evaluation of New York's Coastal Management Program contains the following discussion:

The public lands and waters of the State offer a significant recreation resource. Statewide, the State's outdoor recreation resources include over 300,000 acres of recreation and open space areas managed by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), and 3.9 million acres managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Within these resources, there are 167 State Parks and 35 Historic Sites administered by OPRHP, 52 DEC campgrounds and over 200 water access sites maintained between the two agencies. DEC's primary coastal focus is on fishing and natural resources, while OPRHP directs its efforts at the full range of recreational boating and water recreation. In addition, there are numerous coastal access sites maintained for local residents and/or the public by counties, towns and park districts for a variety of recreation activities. The State continues to expand the supply of public access and recreation facilities; since 1995, New York State has acquired 22 state park sites. Since 1995, DEC has purchased more than 40 equivalent miles of Public Fishing Rights covering more than 115 acres. County and local governments also continue to develop or improve existing public access facilities along the coast. These recreational resources are an essential part of the character of many shoreline communities. Recreational facilities reflect a wide variety of active and passive activities, while preserving other important assets such as natural resources and maritime heritage.

While the demand for public access to the waterfront continues to increase, the opportunities to satisfy this demand are affected by the high costs of developing new access or acquiring new sites, by municipal residency requirements, and by a lack of understanding or hesitation by local governments to use the powers they possess to obtain public access interest. Recreational opportunities can be improved by identifying areas with additional recreational potential, working with new partners, and recognizing and seizing small and non-traditional opportunities.

Both the CZMA and New York State Coastal Policy 19 require the protection, maintenance, and increase in public access on the coast. Much of the Division’s success in addressing increased public access to the state’s coastal areas has been achieved through its assistance to local communities in a variety of mechanisms, particularly in developing and implementing local waterfront revitalization plans and harbor management plans. Evidence of local community emphasis on and provision of public access to coastal areas is discussed throughout other sections of this findings document. The following discussion is representative, but not all-inclusive, of successes in increased public access since the last evaluation in 2003.

The Town of North Hempstead and the Village of Port Washington North on the north shore of Long Island on Long Island Sound’s Manhasset Bay have collaborated on a bay walk. Port Washington North completed a five-year long planning effort and has assembled Bay Walk Park from recently acquired waterfront properties. The park will serve as the Village’s only recreational resource. The Town of North Hempstead is now working on a bay walk project that will extend Port Washington North’s Bay Walk Park into a nearly two-mile public walkway through three villages and the Town’s unincorporated areas in Port Washington. The entire Bay Walk trail will provide significant increased public access to Manhasset Bay.

For the past several years the Division has focused much of its effort in New York City on the Brooklyn waterfront. Projects are generally multi-faceted and address much more than public access, but the access is a significant part of each project. The Division has provided funding for planning, design, and construction of new waterfront open space along Brooklyn’s Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront, including development of a public park, pier, and esplanade. It has also provided support for construction of a new waterfront park at the abandoned Bush Terminal Piers in Brooklyn. This project also includes brownfield remediation and wetland restoration.

New York's Open Space Conservation Plan serves as the blueprint for the State's land conservation efforts, which during the past several years, has conserved over a million acres of land with an investment of more than $762 million. The newly revised DRAFT 2009 Open Space Conservation Plan document demonstrates New York State's renewed commitment to plan, prioritize, and enable citizen and government actions to conserve vital and threatened open spaces. The plan presents attainable regional priority open space conservation projects, including coastal parcel acquisition and waterfront access projects, eligible for funding from the State’s Environmental Protection Fund and other funding sources. The Plan recommends a combination of State and local acquisition, smart development decisions, landowner incentives and other conservation tools, to succeed in conserving open space resources for the long term.

In the opinion of NYSDOS staff, coastal access and parking are adequate to meet current average demand, but are not adequate to meet current peak demand or projected demand in ten years. Public transportation to and along the coast is not adequate to meet either current demand or projected future demand.

Public Education Program

The New York State Department of State, Office of Coastal, Local Government and Community Sustainability works with communities through its Local Waterfront Revitalization Program to help them make the most of what their waterfronts have to offer. Through this Program, communities are building consensus and implementing visions for the future of their waterfronts. The Office developed a guidebook entitled Making the Most of Your Waterfront to inspire and assist communities in their waterfront planning efforts.

The New York Sea Grant program provides education efforts and believes that through education coastal resource development and protection will be supported by a new generation of motivated, highly educated scientists and environmentally aware stewards. Their education initiative, fact sheets, reports, and other publications can be found on their Website.

Contact Info

Amy DeGaetano
DOS - Office of Coastal, Local Government and Community Sustainability
Coastal Resource Specialist - Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River
99 Washington Ave. Suite 1010
Albany, NY 12231-0001
Phone: (518) 474-4516
Email: Amy.DeGaetano@dos.state.ny.us
http://nyswaterfronts.com

Bill Fonda
Regional Citizen Participation Specialist
NYSDEC
SUNY at Stony Brook
50 Circle Road
Stony Brook, New York 11790
(631) 444-0350
Email: bmfonda@gw.dec.state.ny.us