The Long Island State Park Commission, also known as LISPC, is a government agency on Long Island, in the state of New York, headquartered at Belmont Lake State Park in North Babylon. Originally a standalone agency, it is now a regional subdivision of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

History

The LISPC was created in 1924 by the New York State Legislature to build and operate parks & parkways on Long Island. Governor Al Smith was appointed as its first President, and Robert Moses, who had drafted the bill creating the agency, served until 1953. Among the several parks constructed and formerly operated by the Long Island State Park Commission are Bethpage State Park, Jones Beach State Park, Sunken Meadow State Park, Montauk Point State Park, Robert Moses State Park, Belmont Lake State Park, Valley Stream State Park., and others. The LISPC also oversaw the construction of Long Island's parkway system, which includes the Northern State Parkway, the Sagtikos State Parkway, the Bethpage State Parkway, and the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, and several others. Around 1980, the Long Island State Park Commission was dissolved as a standalone agency, with jurisdiction over its parks largely being taken over by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, while its parkways were taken over by the New York State Department of Transportation.

Governance

The Long Island State Park Commission is a regional subdivision of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, one of its eleven Regional Park Commissions.