New York State Owned Off-Road Park Project

I have only begun to brush the surface of this monumental task. Through the beginnings of my research efforts over the last few months, I have discovered that there are several states West of the Mississippi River that have one or more state owned ORV parks or recreational areas. California for example has 6 such parks they own and operate. However here, east of the Mississippi River, ORV parks are few and far between. The ones that we do have here are privately owned and can get to be expensive due to insurance and liability issues. What I am proposing is a lower cost option for the Northeast USA.

With all the bad press we in the off-road community get due to those among us that fall in the 10% rule, we have fewer and fewer land and trails open and available to us. Let those of us, who are true enthusiasts, band together to petition the State of New York to repurpose some of the state land and reopen them as an ORV/OHV Recreational area. These parks could be multi use parks that allow for all types of OHVs. The scope of the parks would allow our community to safely and responsibility enjoy what we do.

Today’s off-road community member for the most part is nothing like our fore-fathers. We are responsible stewards of the land that we trek on. We are always trying to preserve what we have for future generations to enjoy as well. Let us band together and show the government that we are not the people that lead to the decisions of land and trail closures.

There is a huge unknown (to the gov’t) need for safe, LEGAL, OPEN places for us to enjoy our sport and hobby. By the State of New York opening parks like this, it will be a win-win for everyone. The state government will generate more revenue for their budget and the off-road community will get low cost LEGAL, OPEN places to enjoy taking our vehicles off-road.

Here is the link to the online petition:
State owned Off-Road Vehicle Recreational Park Petition

Thank you to all who view and support this project.

Don

i support what you are trying to do, but it may be more difficult to convince the politicians in NY.. What you really need to do is figure out a fiscal analysis of how much opening up, and maintaining such a park actually costs. Talking to one of the many parks west of the Mississippi River would probably be a good place to start. Chances are, the parks probably barely break even with revenue vs cost. If they are actually a loss (which is a good chance as well), good luck getting any money crunchers in the state government to take you seriously.

Im not trying to be a downer on your ideals, I'm just trying to be a realist. These parks have huge costs associated with maintenance and building, and the amount you would be able to charge to entice people to utilize your park would likely be fairly low. That combination adds up to either never truly breaking even, or taking a long time to do so.

I live in California, which currently is one of the worst states in the union economically, so I may be a bit cynical. I know absolutely nothing about New Yorks fiscal situation, and as I doubt they are as bad off as CA is, you may still have a chance.

Good luck to you!

all in all, NY is not good financially, however, I have been crunching some numbers based off of estimates and so far it is looking like there will be a decent profit margin and I am using low numbers all the way around. However I know there are variables I am not accounting for. Yes, I plan on contacting park around the country to get numbers from those parks, but the ones that will hold a bit more weight are gonna be the parks out east here, mostly privately owned, as they are in the client area I am targeting. I am working on the questionnaire to ask each park so I can gather the information I need.