Governor Andrew Cuomo and other state and local officials gathered at Letchworth Park Tuesday to mark the opening of the Humphrey Nature Center.
It's named for philanthropist Peter Humphrey and it's the result of a public-private partnership which received about three and a half million dollars through Cuomo's New York Parks 2020 program, a commitment to revitalize the state parks.
Humphrey secured $3.2 million in private investment and grants to help make the project a reality.
Cuomo says the new Letchworth Center does not only provide important recreational activities, it also helps the state's efforts to drive tourism and boost the economy.
"The investment in this nature center, which is going to take this magnificent park, and now make it a four season park, where we will have programs and activities that can bring people all year long is a phenomenal economic engine for this state."
State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey says educational facilities like these are important to promote the future of New York State Parks.
"That will interpret and tell the stories of nature so we better understand and the more we understand the more we care, and the more we care, the more we conserve.”
