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Spider-Man works with children at Riverbank State Park to encourage youth volunteerism on `I Love My Park Day.` (submitted photo)
Spider-Man works with children at Riverbank State Park to encourage youth volunteerism on "I Love My Park Day." (submitted photo)

'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' calls on kids to be heroes at their favorite state park

by jmaloni

Submitted

Mon, Apr 28th 2014 10:55 am

Spider-Man joined officials at Riverbank State Park to encourage youth volunteerism on "I Love My Park Day"

New York State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey was recently joined by Parks & Trails New York Executive Director Robin Dropkin, New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development Executive Director Gigi Semone, children from the Riverbank State Park community, and special guest Spider-Man from Columbia Pictures' "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" at Riverbank State Park to encourage youth to "Be a Hero" at their favorite New York state park and register to volunteer Saturday, May 3, for "I Love My Park Day."

"I Love My Park Day" is coordinated at the statewide level by Parks & Trails New York in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Friends groups and park staff will oversee cleanup, improvement and beautification projects and work with volunteers at more than 80 state parks and historic sites. Participating parks and online registration can be found at www.ptny.org.

"Thank you to our friends at 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' for helping us spread the message about 'I Love My Park Day' and encourage volunteers of all ages to join this special opportunity for a strong show of support for New York's wonderful park system. The support of the public and dedicated partners will make our parks and sites the very best they can be," Harvey said.

"The creation of New York's remarkable park system was the work of friends, supporters and many ordinary citizens who believed in the importance of parks," Dropkin said. "Their efforts have brought the joys of the outdoors to hundreds of millions of New Yorkers. This park legacy is a responsibility handed down from one generation to the next. Through 'I Love My Park Day,' today's youth are able to step up and do their part as well as create a lifelong connection to their parks. Parks help us all stay healthy and active, and by working together we can make them even better."

"Under Gov. Cuomo's leadership, more productions have taken place in the Empire State than ever before, and the entertainment industry is generating billions of dollars in spending and creating tens of thousands of jobs," Semone said. "Spider-Man is promoting community activism and our great state parks, another great feat in addition to the 3,000 jobs he helped create in New York state during the production of 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2.' "

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was the largest movie production to be filmed in New York, resulting in thousands of jobs for New Yorkers. The production had the biggest stage footprint ever seen in New York with massive sets being constructed at three facilities on Long Island and in Brooklyn, and scenes shot upstate in Rochester. Moreover, filming "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" in New York generated millions of dollars in economic activity across the state.

Many movie productions, including "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," have touted New York's film tax credit program as a major incentive when choosing New York as the location to film.

Since the film tax credit program started in 2004, it has leveraged an estimated $14 billion worth of direct spending and has been a huge job generator for New York. Under Cuomo's leadership, the industry has experienced explosive growth since 2011, with record-breaking years for productions and post-production in 2013, bringing billions of dollars in new spending and thousands of jobs into New York. The stability provided by multiyear funding has particularly encouraged the development of television series production work, as well as long-term investments in infrastructure, all of which creates thousands of jobs directly and indirectly related to the actual productions themselves.

 

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