Closing a state budget deficit of $8.2 billion without driving even more employers and

residents out of New York cannot be accomplished without inflicting pain. Anyone who is

willing to be honest about the state&#8217s economic predicament understands that.

Nevertheless, we have doubts about Gov. David A. Paterson&#8217s plan to close or severely

restrict services at state parks, including several in Western New York. Our problem

isn&#8217t that it will inconvenience New Yorkers who rely on the parks for rest and

recreation &#8212 at least, it&#8217s not mainly that. The problem is that the move inflicts

too much pain with too little pay-back.

According to the governor&#8217s office, the plan &#8212 a sure sign of just how desperate

the state&#8217s fiscal straits are &#8212 would save $6.5 million, which equals less than

half a percent of the $8.2 billion deficit. There are only two possible reasons we can think

of to pursue those cutbacks. One is to send a wake-up call around the state: This is real;

we&#8217re not getting out of this mess easily. The other is to ensure that when the governor

goes to the budgets for health and education &#8212 which he must, given that they account for

more than half the overall budget &#8212 he can say all New Yorkers are sharing in the pain.

Other questions abound. For example:

Does closing the parks mean keeping all people out of them? What will that cost in terms

of barriers, guards or patrols?

Does closing the parks mean not maintaining them &#8212 not cutting the grass, not

tending the landscaping, not keeping up with building needs? What will it cost to get

everything back in shape once the state&#8217s financial condition improves and the parks

reopen?

What will it cost in lost revenue to close or restrict park usage, especially at Niagara

Falls State Park, slated to have its interpretive programs reduced during the peak tourist

season? The park drew 7.9 million visitors last year and was one of only a few to turn a

profit.

Parks did not close during the Great Depression. While it&#8217s true that Albany has had

80 years since then to make matters worse in this state &#8212 lawmakers weren&#8217t giving

away the store to special interest groups back then &#8212 we don&#8217t see the point of a

drastic action that saves a comparative pittance.

Paterson needs to provide more details of this plan and to explain why this is useful and

necessary. We understand that painful cuts are in the offing for schools, hospitals and health

care. Those are inevitable, and they can go a long way toward filling the state&#8217s

cavernous budget gap. This one, as it stands, doesn&#8217t seem worth the effort.