Budget includes $150K for Hinchey center in Mount Tremper
MOUNT TREMPER, N.Y. >> The state budget that Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled this week includes $150,000 to help fund the operation of the Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey Catskills Visitor Center.
The center, on Route 28 in Mount Tremper, is the only visitor facility in the 700,000-acre Catskill Park.
It hosts more than 10,000 people each year, “orienting them with exhibits and dozens of special programs and lectures, in addition to maps, adventure advice, and information on shopping, lodging and restaurants,” the center said in its announcement of the state funding.
“This is a tough budget year in New York, and we’re very grateful for the governor’s continued commitment to the environment, and for recognizing the Catskills Visitor Center’s value to the Catskill Park, our communities and our visitors,” said Jeff Senterman, executive director of the center, said in a prepared statement.”
New York is facing a budget deficit of about $6 billion.
Senterman said the center “educates visitors, connects them to local communities, provides a hub for residents and contributes to the wise use and preservation of this magical part of the world.”
The Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey Catskills Visitor Center, originally called the Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center, opened in 2015. The site was named for Hinchey in recognition of his advocacy for environmental protection and his efforts to educate people about the Catskill Park.
Hinchey served in the state Assembly for 18 years and then as a congressman for next 20 in the House of Representatives. He retired at the end of 2012 and died in November 2017 at age 79. He is buried on the grounds of the visitor center.