On Long Island, a new $12.2M visitor center is completed

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A new $12.2M visitor center is now open at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park in Great River.

The 1,600-square-foot center is designed to educate visitors about members of the Cutting family and their 60-room Tudor-style mansion, as well as the surrounding landscaped grounds.  The center also provides information about the impact of climate change, and the arboretum’s efforts to mitigate its effects.

“Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park is a historic oasis, and these improvements will make it an even more enriching and enjoyable experience for New Yorkers and out-of-state visitors,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a news release about the new center.

“The arboretum is a shining example of the great estates on the South Shore of Long Island during the 19th century, and with these upgrades, we are protecting this invaluable public resource and our environment and ensuring generations enjoy it long into the future,” she added.

Long Island accounts for more than 33% of all state park visitation in New York, or 29 million visitors in 2023. That’s according to the Long Island Association, citing statistics from state officials.

In Great River, the arboretum was donated to the Long Island State Park region by Olivia Bayard Cutting, with her daughter, Olivia James, in memory of her husband William Bayard Cutting. Born in 1850, William Cutting was a railroad tycoon who was also involved in land and waterfront development, led other enterprises, and served as a director of the Metropolitan Opera Company.

The donation of the property was intended to foster an appreciation of the outdoors and plantings.  The arboretum features parks, walks, gardens and an abundance of various trees. At the visitors center, there is information on tree specimens and an interactive map where visitors can learn about each of the arboretum’s collections of trees; an animated, illustrated short film revealing the life processes of a coniferous tree; and an illustrated timeline starting with the indigenous peoples who lived in the area and taking visitors through the land’s long history.

External restrooms are ADA-accessible, and the visitor center features a photovoltaic solar power array on its roof.

There are 248 new, asphalt-paved and standard-width parking spaces, replacing previous undersized parking spaces. The new spaces were designed to improve storm water drainage and water quality. Additional sustainability efforts include LED parking lot lighting, electric vehicle charging stations

Chief Disability Officer Kimberly Hill Ridley said in the news release that she appreciated “every step that our New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation agency does to improve access for people with disabilities. All New Yorkers, including those with every type of disability, should have access to utilize and enjoy everything that our amazing parks system has to offer. We count New York State parks as one of our partners in improving the quality of life for our disability community.”

New York State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons said in the release that the Parks department “is thrilled to welcome all to Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park’s new visitor center, a facility that will provide the perfect introduction to this ‘museum of trees’ and enhance their overall experience at the arboretum. The new visitor center’s rooftop solar array also gets us one step closer to Governor Hochul’s goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030.”