MANHATTAN
The outdoor pool in Riverbank State Park is empty - dried brown leaves filling each corner - and it just might stay that way, through a long, hot Harlem summer, according to the New York Daily News.
Riverbank's staff should already be hiring lifeguards for its 25-yard outdoor lap pool and filling summer class rosters at the park, which perches above the Hudson near 145th St. But it, and other state parks, are facing an uncertain future.
"It's devastating," said Harlem dad Lewis Burgess, 59. "One of the worst things to do in the summertime is to take away the pool."
Burgess lives five blocks from Riverbank, where a sign at the information desk says registration for all summer programs is on hold.
"The real frustration is not being able to get any information about what is going to happen," he said.
In response to Gov. Paterson's proposed budget cuts, the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has said it will close 55 parks and historic sites around the state - and reduce hours and shutter facilities at others.
The proposed cuts include padlocking Bayswater Point State Park in Queens - a favorite spot for planespotters near JFK Airport - and slashing hours at Riverbank as well as closing its outdoor pool and canceling classes and community programs for kids and seniors.
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