Bill Text: NY K02316 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage, New York

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 17-6)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-29 - adopted [K02316 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K02316-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 2316

BY: M. of A. Blumencranz

        COMMEMORATING  the  90th  Anniversary  of Bethpage
        State Park in Old Bethpage, New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  sense  of  this  Legislative  Body  that  the
continuing  welfare  of the citizens of the State of New York is greatly
enriched and reliably  served  by  the  purposeful  endeavors  of  those
organizations  committed  to  the preservation of the natural world, and
the promotion of environmental citizenship; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
commemorate the 90th Anniversary of Bethpage State Park; and

  WHEREAS, Established in 1934, Bethpage State Park  is  a  1,477-acre
public park located in Old Bethpage, NY; and

  WHEREAS,  In  1912,  the  Park was developed from an estate owned by
Benjamin Franklin Yoakum and the Yoakum  family  and  other  surrounding
properties  in Farmingdale; the Yoakum family leased their estate to the
Lenox Hills Corporation in 1923 which subsequently built and opened  the
private  Lenox  Hills Country Club; the park started as a single 18-hole
golf course, designed by prolific course designer Devereux Emmet; and

  WHEREAS, After Yoakum died in 1929, the State of New York, under the
Long Island State Park Commission, purchased and assumed  management  of
the  property  in May 1934; Robert Moses, Chairman of the New York State
Council of Parks,  named  the  park  "Bethpage  State  Park"  after  the
Bethpage  Purchase,  a  land  deal  with  Native  Americans, made by his
ancestor Thomas Powell in 1687; and

  WHEREAS, Once acquired by the state and  designated  a  state  park,
famed  golf  course  architect  A.W. Tillinghast was hired to design and
oversee construction of three new golf  courses  (the  Black,  Red,  and
Blue)  as well as modify the original Lenox Hills course, later known as
the Green Course; due to the increasing popularity and demand for  golf,
the Yellow Course designed by Alfred Tull was opened in 1958; and

  WHEREAS,  Bethpage  State  Park is now home to five world-class golf
courses, including the world-renowned Black Course which was the site of
the U.S. Open Championship in 2002 and 2009; the Barclays  in  2012  and
2016;  the  PGA  Championship  in 2019; and will host golf's pre-eminent
event, the Ryder Cup in September 2025; and

  WHEREAS, With approximately 15,000 golf  courses  of  all  different
types and sizes in the United States, the Black Course at Bethpage State
Park  has consistently ranked among the top 100 Greatest Golf Courses in
America per Golf Digest for nearly twenty years; and

  WHEREAS, Visitors also flock to the park to use  the  park's  picnic
facilities,  playing  fields,  tennis  courts,  bridle paths, hiking and
biking trails and  cross-county  skiing  trails;  the  Polo  Grounds  at
Bethpage  State Park, built in 1934, also hosted the 1994 U.S. Open Polo
Championship Finals; and


  WHEREAS,  Bethpage  State  Park  is  now one of the most popular and
cherished public parks in the nation, a mecca for  public  golf,  and  a
testament  to  the  beauty  and  history  of Nassau County; over 200,000
rounds are consistently played annually on the five courses at Bethpage,
all of which start from the Clubhouse  area.  The  Park  also  houses  a
restaurant  and  catering facilities, a Golf Pro Shop and driving range;
and

  WHEREAS, Throughout the decades, Bethpage State Park  has  become  a
destination  much  appreciated by the residents of Nassau County and the
State of New York, and visitors who seek the historical,  cultural,  and
recreational  resources  of  the  area;  it  is  a  source  of pride and
community heritage to all the people  of  Nassau  County  and  New  York
State; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 90th Anniversary of Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage,
New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That copies of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to  the  Heritage  Club  at  Bethpage and the Nassau County
Executive.