PTNY's 2025 Advocacy Priorities

As the calendar rolls over to a new year and the holiday decorations get put back in storage, focus in Albany switches to the annual state legislative session. As New York’s leading statewide advocate for parks, trails, and public lands, we fiercely advocate for investment in our state park system, in expanding our state’s network of greenway trails, and in ensuring our public lands are welcoming to all.

In early January, PTNY released our annual Advocacy Priorities, which highlighted key budget items and legislative initiatives that we will be pushing for in 2025.

• Increase the Environmental Protection Fund from $400 million a year to $500 million, allowing for critical investment in an array of state environmental programs.
• Expand the Connect Kids to Parks program to $4 million.
• Double the Park and Trail Partnership Grant to $4 million.
• Grow the Parks, Preservation and Heritage Program (known as the Municipal Parks Program) to $40 million.
• Create a new $10 million annual funding source for expanding and enhancing New York’s greenway trail network.
• Increase annual New York State Department of Environmental Conservation capital funding to $100 million.
• Maintain $200 million in annual capital funding for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

Our advocacy priorities also include a series of legislative actions that we’d like to see approved. These include measures in the landmark Greenway Trails for a Green Future package, which seeks to improve trail user safety and facilitate the expansion of the greenway network.

These measures include improving legal protections for cyclists crossing roadways, allowing flexibility for communities to use state funding to maintain their greenway trails, requiring the establishment of detour routes when sections of the Empire State Trail are closed, and limiting liability for property owners where greenway trails are built and on neighboring properties.

We’re also pushing for the creation of the Parks RX program to strengthen the connection between public health and park usage.

Finally, through our work with the New York State Safe Streets Coalition and New Yorkers for Transportation Equity, we’re pushing for changes to improve the safety of our state’s street network, increase investment in sustainable transportation options, and facilitate changes needed to reduce vehicle use as a critical part of climate action.

On January 14, Governor Kathy Hochul gave the annual State of the State Address and presented key priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Gov. Hochul is pursuing targeted investments designed to address the burgeoning youth mental health crisis by providing safe opportunities for children to play outdoors. These initiatives include NY PLAYS (Places for Learning, Activity and Youth Socialization), which will advance competitive grant funding for playground development and maintenance projects statewide, and the investment of an additional $50 million in capital grants to the NY SWIMS program to allow local governments to invest in pools and swimming facilities.

Next, Governor Hochul will release the Executive Budget proposal, where we’ll look to see which of our advocacy priorities were championed and which we’ll need to pursue with our legislative partners. We’ll work over the next three months to encourage the legislature to prioritize investment in our public lands.

Want to get involved? Send a message to your state legislators and the governor! Check out our Take Action page, where you’ll find sample outreach messages in support of our advocacy priorities. We change these messages, so check back often to be sure that you’re sending the right message at the right time.

Together, let’s make public lands safer and more accessible for everyone!