About 7 years ago the permit for State parks on Long Island was $5 , then it went up to $10 , then $20 and about 4 years ago it went up to the current price of $40. I believe the $40 is for the NYS parks on Long Island only. Last year I know upstate parks were cheaper. Glimmerglass park in Otsego County as well as a bunch of others a permit was $10 and there were some parks that didn't charge a fee. The $40 cost on Long Island is a ripoff. With all the taxes we pay here , (average property tax is well over $10,000 a year) the fee should be $5 or $10. It's not like there is a ton of paperwork that get entered into a computer. We fill out a small form , get a paper permit and a small pamphlet of the parks. What could that possibly cost them , $3 ? After you buy the permit you have to pay a $10 park entrance fee , another ripoff. The only reason they charge so much on Long Island is because they know the residents earn more in salary then the rest of the state does and they can take advantage of that. No other NYS parks in the rest of the state cost this much. All Long Islanders should complain to the NYS office of parks and recreation and the governors office. Oh and one other thing , there used to only be a parking fee at the beaches from late April until mid September. Now I hear there is a parking fee all year at Jones Beach and Robert Moses Beach.
