Assemblyman Gray's tourism tour kicks off in Clayton

Jun. 16—CLAYTON — The first stop in Assemblyman Scott A. Gray's statewide tourism tour was in Clayton on Friday afternoon.

This is the first of 20 stops that will take place on the tourism tour. The tour will culminate in St. Lawrence County near Waddington and Massena.

In front of what appeared to be a somewhat smoky St. Lawrence River at the Clayton Riverwalk Pavilion in Frink Park, Assemblyman Gray said that he, along with Sen. Mark C. Walczyk, who are both on tourism committees, will be traveling to Western New York, the Capital, Cooperstown, New York City, Long Island, etc.

"All along the way, we will talk about other stops that we have made along the tour," he said. "If you're traveling inside of New York, there's a lot to see, if you're traveling from outside of New York there's a lot to see when you get here, it's just not New York City. There is another world of upstate New York that has a lot to offer."

He said the purpose for doing the tour is to be able to do a better job serving on the tourism committee.

Assemblyman Gray mentioned legislation that will make tourism more effective in the state, and budget advocacy.

Randy Young, state Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Director for Region Six said that the site of the Harbor Hotel used to be what he described as a "brownfield."

He said it was an industrial site and it was contaminated, which was preventing it from being developed.

A state run program, administered by the DEC, cleans up sites like the one that was formerly at the hotel, so that they can be used and developed again.

"As you see, a beautiful hotel that brings people from probably all over the world, right here," he said. "That's just one example of what we do."

In region six, which includes St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida and Herkimer counties, there are about 720 miles of fishing access, over two dozen boat launches, 102 state forests, 25 conservation easements, five campgrounds and day-use areas, a trail system with hundreds of miles of trails, and 13 wildlife management areas, among many other amenities.

"DEC's mission is to conserve and protect the natural resources of the state for the health, the social, and the economic well-being of the people of the state," he said. "So that economic component is a part of our mission, to make sure that this environment sustains a strong economy and tourism is a huge part of that, and we're proud to try to promote that to the greatest extent possible."

Assemblyman Gray said that attractions are the "heart and soul" of tourism.

"And what better attraction can you have than what you're seeing right here, and it's beautiful," he said while pointing at the river.

He added that are opportunities for people to shop, eat, and go on an Uncle Sam Boat Tour.

Assemblyman Gray said they will also look at affordability and accessibility.

"We have to make sure that people can afford to come here," he said.

Conversations will also be had about vehicle charging stations.

"It's time that we start looking forward to preparing ourselves for the next generation of travelers and charging stations are going to be important to that," he said.

He said starting in Clayton was "a great opportunity."

Assemblyman Gray said the tour is important so he can represent the tourism sector in the committee and it allows him to become a better ranking member, as well as keeping the rest of the conference informed.

A report will be written up for the conference as well after the tour is completed.

Some of the ideas he will bring down to the Capitol include concerns with the Seaway Trail, having with the I Love New York fund work more cooperatively with Chambers of Commerce across the state, and a more centralized tourism website.