The New York State Canal Corporation is a New York State public-benefit corporation responsible for the oversight, administration and maintenance of the New York State Canal System , which consists of the Erie Canal , Cayuga–Seneca Canal , Oswego Canal and Champlain Canal . It is also involved with the development and maintenance of the New York State Canalway Trail and with the general development and promotion of the Erie Canal Corridor as both a tourist attraction and a working waterway. The canal system totals 524 miles in length, and includes 57 locks and 17 lift bridges. The corporation suggests that canal boat travelers reserve 5 days to traverse the Erie Canal portion of the system.
8-566: The current director of the New York State Canal Corporation is Brian Stratton , who was appointed to the position by Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Spring of 2011. Executive officers report to a 7-member board of directors. For 2018, the board approved an expenditures budget of $ 82 million for operations and maintenance, $ 40 million for capital expenditures, and $ 3 million for Canal Development Fund expenses. In 2012,
16-676: A second term in 2007. Although he was once rumored to be a possible candidate for the Capital District House seat being relinquished by retiring Congressman Michael McNulty , he announced in February 2008 that he was not going to run for this seat. McNulty's predecessor was Stratton's father, Samuel S. Stratton . Stratton resigned as mayor in 2011 to serve as director of the New York State Canal Corporation . This article about
24-625: The New York State Thruway . This did not come to pass. The New York Power Authority has been financially responsible for the Canal Corporation since April 2016 and has owned it since January 1, 2017. In 2004, it was discovered that officials of the Canal Corporation had attempted to sell private development rights to large stretches of the Old Erie Canal to a single developer for a mere $ 30,000, far less than
32-799: The State University of New York at Oswego in 1980. He began his career in 1981 as an employee of General Electric, where he worked for the company's cable television and broadcasting department in Schenectady before moving to its government relations department in Washington D.C. From 1987 to 2000, Stratton worked for the Empire State Development Corporation as part of its staff in the Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research. He then served on
40-467: The New York State Canal Corporation employed 529 people, consisting of 458 full-time employees and 78 seasonal workers. Its spending accounted for about 10 percent of the New York State Thruway 's total $ 1.1 billion in annual spending. In 2012, the Canal Corp.’s operating budget was $ 55.7 million and its capital budget was $ 51.4 million. An August 2012 report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said
48-526: The canal system "contributed to the deterioration of the Authority's financial condition over the past decade", even as canal traffic had dropped nearly one-third since the period immediately before the Thruway Authority assumed control. In May 2006, Governor George Pataki proposed recreating the New York State Canal Corporation by 2010 as an independent agency no longer under the oversight of
56-495: The land was worth on the open market. After an investigation by Syracuse's Post-Standard newspaper and much public criticism, governor George Pataki later quietly canceled the deal. Official website Brian Stratton Brian U. Stratton (born 6 September 1957) is a former mayor of Schenectady , New York . He is a member of the Democratic Party . Stratton received his Bachelor of Arts degree from
64-797: The staff of State Senator Martin Connor. He served on the Schenectady City Council from 1992 to 2002, and ran unsuccessfully for New York State Senate in 2000. Stratton was the Economic Development and Small Business Liaison for the New York State Senate Minority Leader from 2000 to 2003. From 2002 to 2004 he was a member of the Schenectady County Legislature. First elected mayor in 2003, elected for
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