Orient is among six parks statewide targeted for closing by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and five more would see cutbacks in activities -- all to close a $30 million gap in the parks office budget.
If Orient were to close, the nearest open state park would be Wildwood, more than 30 miles west, Mr. Romaine said. It costs $400,000 a year to operate Orient Beach State Park, which brings in annual revenues of $300,000, he said.
"For $100,000, they would close this park," Mr. Romaine said, drawing boos aimed at the state decision-makers from the crowd of park supporters.
Greenport Trustee Mike Osinski took the challenge a step further, telling the crowd he'd call J.P. Morgan to ask for money to keep the park open. If the investment banking firm can afford to give big bonuses to its employees, it can support the park, he said. Mr. Osinski is a former Wall Streeter who worked as a software developer for Shearson Lehman in the 1980s.
The park is an economic engine for the North Fork, said Sylvia Daley, owner of Quintessentials Bed and Breakfast. "Shutting down this park is shutting down revenues," she said, adding that people are drawn to inns like hers in East Marion because of the park and its beaches.
"We can't jump on a jet plane and go someplace else," said Bob DeLuca of the Group for the East End, speaking of the role the park plays in local residents' lives.
"Our economy is driven by the environment," he said. "We can't let this stand; we have to let the government know this park must stay open."
Diane Wroblewski of Flushing called the park her "country club," explaining that she and family members have spent days at the beach throughout her life. She pledged her support to locals to fight to keep the park open. Others talked about hiking, biking, kayaking, birding and picnics at the park.
"It's a shame that they've come to an impasse," Friends of Long Beach representative Joseph Townsend said in an interview just before the rally began. Closing the park would result in decay and damage to the facilities that would be more costly to repair than the cost of keeping the park open, he said.
He later told the crowd that from about 1998 through 2003, members of the Friends of Long Beach were prepared to go to jail to fight a state rule prohibiting access to the park beach from boats. That fight was settled in an agreement with the state that allows access by permit and saw disorderly conduct charges against the "The Long Beach Five" dismissed. The group stands ready to support all efforts to keep the state park open, Mr. Townsend pledged.
Ken Rubino of the North Fork Environmental Council worried that garbage put into receptacles each year would be strewn about the grounds if the park were closed.
The people of Orient maintained the area as a park until 1929, when they deeded it to the state. If it can't be maintained, Southold should take it back, Councilman Al Krupski Jr. said at the rally.
The town has its own fiscal crisis and it's unclear how it might provide for park maintenance. But Supervisor Scott Russell, who was not feeling well and didn't attend the rally, said in a phone interview that Mr. Krupski had "an excellent idea."
Before trying to figure out how the town would fund the park operation, Mr. Russell said he'd want to take a look at why it's costing the state $400,000. It's possible that the town might have to cut some activities to make park management affordable, Mr. Russell said.
"But it's a large, beautiful park" and there should be a way to keep it open, he said.
Mr. Romaine called on area residents to write letters to the parks department, the governor and state legislators. He noted that Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and Assemblyman Marc Alessi (D-Shoreham) were already on board with his save-the-park campaign. He also urged those gathered to reach out to groups like the Audubon Society, Sierra Club and others attuned to environmental issues and urge them to add their voices and "credibility" to the effort to save the park.
"We can't let this park go," said Ruth Ann Bramson of the East Marion Civic Association.
jlane@timesreview.com