After public outcry to reopen state parks, Governor Paterson proposed a bill that would keep all of New York's parks and historic sites funded and open starting Memorial Day weekend. But his plan is not being well-received by state lawmakers since it reallocates $110 million from the state's Environmental Protection Fund. Kaitlyn Ross has details.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- "We have never as a state closed a park in New York," said ADK Council Spokesman John Sheehan. "Not in the Great Depression, not in World Wars I or II. There has never been a reason good enough to close parks."

But now, many state parks and historic sites are closed because of the budget deficit. Sheehan said Paterson's plan to slash the Environmental Protection Fund by $110 million is not the way to fix it.

"With the weather getting hotter and nice and Memorial Day coming on, it's easier for the governor to use this as a weapon against the Legislature, and we think they should resist that," said Sheehan.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, "It's inappropriate. We'll take it up in conference."

Even though the Senate and the Assembly have made re-opening the parks a top priority, they have problems with Paterson's approach.

"The governor never should have closed the parks, and this excuse of rerouting $110 million from the Environmental Protection Fund and telling all of you that it's a $6 million program, he's taking $104 million to do other things," Silver said.

"He held hostage the people of the State of New York who are needing stay-at-home vacation more than ever these days," said Senator George Winner.

But the governor's office said if it's so important to open the parks, the Legislature should pass their plan.

"If this is a primary concern of yours, if this is something that is so important that it needs to be taken out of budget negotiations and done as a stand-alone, then you also have to achieve real, recurring savings," said Morgan Hook, the governor's communications director.

Privately, lawmakers called the bill a back-handed way for the governor to get his part of the budget passed. But Hook said it's just a matter of keeping the books balanced.

Hook said, "We're not just going to reopen parks and provide funding for parks when there's not a real savings achieved on the other end of that, and that's exactly what this bill does."

It's unlikely that either house will end up voting for the bill. The end result, that means, doesn't look good for state parks in the short-term, especially for Memorial Day weekend.