Gateway National Recreation Area is proposing to increase camping and parking fees in the park. Camping fees at all three units would increase from $20 to $30 for the 2015 season. Parking fees would increase at both Sandy Hook and Riis Beach in 2017. This would be Gateway's first parking fee increase since 2012, and the first increase in camping fees since the park's camping program began.
Proposed 2017 Fees at Sandy Hook:
$20 per day
$100 per season
$50 per oversize car per day
$200 per oversize car per season
Proposed 2017 Fees at Riis Beach
$15 per day
$75 per season
$30 per oversize car per day
$150 per oversize car per season
"We are committed to keeping the park affordable but also want to provide visitors with the best possible experience," said Gateway Superintendent Jen Nersesian. "The money from the camping and parking fees will help improve our visitor facilities and services."
Gateway is also initiating a study into the feasibility of instituting metered parking at select locations throughout the park. The park will start the study in the summer of 2015. The meters would be located at various sites in the Staten Island and the Jamaica Bay Units, and would charge rates comparable to NYC rates. This additional income would also help support improved services and amenities.
Even with the proposed fee increases, a visit to Gateway's beaches and campgrounds will remain within the means of everyday people. The park charges per vehicle, not per person, which is more cost effective for most visitors. The few campsites in the surrounding area charge either similar or higher fees.
Visitors with Senior or Access Passes would be charged half price for parking, as they are currently.
Parking fees and camping fees at Gateway are authorized through the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004 (FLREA), which allows 80% of the revenue collected at Gateway to remain in the park.
Since 2001, Gateway has used this authority and resulting revenue of nearly $25 million in improvements, which include: rehabilitating campgrounds and the Ryan Visitor Center at Floyd Bennett Field; expanding the docking facility at Sandy Hook; paving the Multi-Use Path at Sandy Hook; rehabilitating Frank Charles Park in Queens; refurbishing restrooms and beach stations throughout Gateway; and adding a web-cam to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse.
A 30-day public engagement period on the proposed fee increase is open today, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 through Friday, Dec. 19, 2014.
Feedback will be accepted via email at Gateway_Fee_Increase@nps.gov, or at the following address:
Office of the Superintendent
Gateway National Recreation Area
ATTN: Proposed parking and camping fee increase
210 New York Avenue
Staten Island, New York 10305
Your opinion is important to us. Gateway will consider all opinions before making a final decision.
About Gateway National Recreation Area
Established in 1972, Gateway National Recreation Area offers more than 26,000 acres of marshes, wildlife sanctuaries and recreational athletic facilities, miles of sandy beaches; indoor and outdoor classrooms; picnicking and camping areas, as well as historic structures and military installations, airfields, a lighthouse, and adjacent waters around New York harbor. The park offers urban residents in two states a wide range of recreational opportunities year round. Gateway is one of the ten most visited parks in the country.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
