It’s the most sparkly time of the year! It’s the holiday season and the grand finale of the year of wellness at New York State Parks and Historic Sites. All year long, we’ve come together to improve all aspects of our well-being, build community, and connect to nature and history. We celebrated the holiday season the same way, with handcrafted experiences designed to bring people together to make memories without breaking the bank. Our gift to you is a look at the holiday and winter festivities at state parks and historic sites all across New York. Thank you for making us part of your year-end traditions!
Like the first birdsong, the start of Major League Baseball is a sign of spring.
Baseball fans celebrate the start of the season every year, but there are two other “baseball holidays” circled on the calendar of fans everywhere at opposite ends the season: Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, and Roberto Clemente Day on September 15. Did you know that New York State Parks has connections to both?
Following our 2024 Centennial anniversary, we will continue to share the story of New York State’s park and historic site system through our interactive history timeline, Blazing a Trail: A History of NY State Parks and Historic Sites. In recent months, we have added two eras detailing the latter half of the 20th century. Starting in 1960 and spanning to the turn of the millennium, these stories outline some of the largest periods of expansion in the system’s history and explore radical changes which defined the modern-day mission of New York State Parks.
There’s more to nature in New York City than rats and pigeons! From wriggly eels to soaring falcons, there are plenty of species that thrive in and around the concrete jungle. Prehistoric creatures roam our shorelines. Ancient trees line our streets. Read on to learn more about some of the species that make up the hidden nature of NYC.
Hispanic Heritage Month, spanning mid-September to mid-October, is a time for Latinx people in the U.S. to celebrate their roots. Through the vantage of Hispanic / Latinx staff, we reflect on the namesake for Roberto Clemente State Park — the sole park in our system named in honor of a Hispanic icon.
Roberto Clemente State Park first opened in 1973 as the Harlem River Bronx State Park. In that same year, the New York State Commission met to rename the park after the famous Puerto Rican Hall of Fame Baseball player, Roberto Clemente, who tragically died in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico taking aid to Nicaragua.
The decision to rename the park after Clemente was not because he was a famous baseball player, but because he believed in helping people and doing good. He was truly a humanitarian. “Anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth,” he once said.
I am joyful to be a Latina “Boricua” and oversee the first State Park built in New York City, and especially proud that it holds the name of Roberto Clemente. When I was a young child, I remember my mother speaking about how, although we came from a town next to his, our cousins lived in the town Roberto Clemente came from. I often remember him and think of my baseball card collection.
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