Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 32

31 GETTING LESS Series at a Glance Visible Hurt SUNDAY: A Nickel Here A Dime Here A Dollar There MONDAY: More and More Holes in the Social Safety Net TUESDAY: For State Employees Layoffs and Demotions YESTERDAY: The High Toll on Higher Education TODAY: Ask Not What New York Can Do For You trator said angry patients frustrated by the extended waiting time have become screaming and cursing The staff is demoralized Morale is low Arts programs are suffering a triple threat in cutbacks from the state counties and their local towns or villages Nassau is erasing one concert from each of its summer series in its outer parks and three of its four in Eisenhower Park Both the Long Island Philharmonic and the Nassau Symphony have cut back one concert from their seasons with the Long Island Philharmonic also failing to fund its chorus The International Art of Jazz had gotten repossession notices on its word processors copier and fax machine Though the complicated funding formula cut Long Island organizations less severely than those in other areas it was severe enough people are talking about 56 percent cuts state message it gives is that nobody cares if women have breast cancers and the state is not going to do anything to help said Barbara Balaban director of the Adelphi University center which serves Nassau County where breast cancer incidence is the highest in the state TRICKLE DOWNS Cuts filtering down to the local level affect many of the same services as the state cuts At the state-aided Suffolk health center in Coram women wait 10 weeks for a prenatal care appointment meaning potential problems cannot be caught during their first trimester Even with employees doubling up on their responsibilities at all nine Suffolk health centers said William Steibel the director of patient care just doesn't get done Patients get In one two-week period 535 patients were turned away from the centers At Tri-Communitv Health Center in Amityville Nina Wolpert the adminis THIS SUNDAY: The School Aid Massacre on Long Island While all districts in the state lost some money Long Island was in a word clobbered Despite large last-minute restorations by the State Legislature that helped Nassau and Suffolk disproportionately Long Island schools lost 254 percent in state funds compared with 77 percent statewide Superintendents like Anthony Pecorale right say they have no choice but to ask residents to pay more for less as their districts cuts programs and raise taxes Please see SERVICES on Next Page Perennial Cuts Leave a Park Worse for Wear By Bill Bleyer STAFF WRITER The brown paint is peeling off in long strips on the giant wooden umbrellas that shade bathers at the Heckscher State Park pool But just a cosmetic problem David Catalano walks over and pokes an umbrella post with his pen It penetrates the rotted wood like a knife cutting through soft butter are considerable maintenance said Catalano the man in charge of operations for Long state parks "We barely have enough staff to maintain what we consider minimum While last-minute intervention in Albany kept open Robert Moses State Park other state budget cuts this year coming on top of previous reductions have left Heckscher and the 1 8 other developed state parks on Long Island near the brink of collapse parks officials say park is but Heckscher has been hit the hardest said Ronald Foley regional director for the state Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation Fifty-three percent of year-round staff positions are vacant compared with a 29 percent average vacancy in the region because more of its employees have retired or quit than at other parks and a hiring freeze instituted two years ago has prevented their replacement They have no idea when the freeze will be lifted reduced staff has to maintain 1679 acres including 22 acres purchased in the spring with 17700 feet of of Great South Bay waterfront There are two beaches the pool a campground picnic areas boat-launching ramps hiking trails a bridle path and ballfields The year-round staff at the park has decreased from 18 in 1979 to 1 1 this year while annual attendance has risen from 1 million to 11 million The park had 86 seasonal employees last year and has 68 this year The seasonals include lifeguards maintenance staff cleaners and toll collectors staff is made up of dedicated said Catalano worked for the park system for 22 years people are worn down and As those 11 million patrons enter Heckscher the fourth busiest Long Island state park all seems as it should be at first The grass is neatly trimmed There is no trash on the ground love this said Lil Sharapata of Sayville who has been coming to Heckscher from the time it only had one dirt road leading to the beach still looks good to me but not as good as it used But closer examination shows that more than a decade of slimmer budgets and reduced staff have made a noticeable difference in every aspect of park operations Some park activities have been cut entirely over the past 13 years NEWSDAY THURSDAY AUGUST 8 1991 NewsdayBill Davis FEWER CLEANUPS Eelgrass washed up on the beach was once raked up daily Now with fewer workers it is dealt with only about once a week Please see PARK on Next Page.