Council Member Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) and Assembly Member Ron Castorina Jr. have announced the allocation of $50,000 to Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve in Charleston. The funds will be used to update the Park’s signage system in an effort to be more user-friendly, accessible, and clear, which Clay Pit Park is trying to accommodate.

During the winter months, Council Member Borelli worked with New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) Regional Director, Leslie Wright, to identify potential enhancements to the Park that would make it more accessible to the surrounding residential community. One approach was made possible by a funding allocation from Council Member Borelli, which will allow OPRHP to replace the current signage with signage that is both more welcoming and more easily digestible to park users.

The $50,000 allocation will cover the design, fabrication, and installation of simple and aesthetically pleasing signage throughout the park and its vast trail system to welcome patrons and provide useful information to them in a gracious manner.

“I’d like to thank Council Member Borelli for his commitment to improving our community and his efforts to provide enhancements to our parks, ensuring that our public, natural resources are inclusive and available to all who wish to enjoy them,” said Assembly Member Ron Castorina. “It has been a pleasure collaborating on this project and I’m excited to share these enhancements with the community.”

“I’m grateful to be in a position to support the revitalization of this beautiful park, and I know our community here on the south shore is going to continue to enjoy this natural treasure, as I do, for generations to come,” said Borelli. “The new signage at Clay Pit will welcome scores of our friends and neighbors to a wonderful, natural asset right here on the south shore of Staten Island. My thanks go out to Leslie Wright, who has been a wonderful and committed partner to us throughout this process, and whose insight and creativity has been invaluable.”

“NYS Parks is grateful to Councilmember Borelli for his commitment to parks and his understanding of the incalculable value parks add to their local communities. His allocation of funding for a new, improved trail signage system at Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve will make the park experience that much better for our patrons at Clay Pit Ponds”, said Leslie Wright, New York City Regional Director for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.