New York State Canal Corporation

The New York State Canal Corporation is a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority. It is 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.

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 the land was worth on the open market. After an investigation by the Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper and much public criticism, governor George Pataki later canceled the deal.

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.

In May 2006, Governor Pataki proposed recreating the Canal Corporation by 2010 as an independent agency no longer under the oversight of the Thruway Authority.

New York State Canal System Homepage