Meet A Parkie

Kevin McCreesh

Park Manager 1

West End of Jones Beach State Park

What does a day for you look like?

“I wake up in the morning and go to a beautiful place...on the West End we have a motto that we should make sure the park is ‘safe and clean for the public...[this includes anything from] heavy landscaping and curb appeal...[to ensuring large events run smoothly]. We are very public facing. I speak to a lot of the patrons. The West End is nice because a lot of the people here like fishing. I enjoy fishing.”

Prior to your time at parks, what was your experience?

“[I] Graduated from Dowling College” with a bachelor’s in Communications and a minor in Political Science, then went on to oversee the operations of three stores at Jiffy Lube as a Multi-unit Store Manager. “I left here to go work for an arborist. I always liked trees too...Life changes sometimes for the better, or not. I found myself thinking ‘when was the last time I truly remember being happy?’ and that was working at Jones Beach.”

How has it been working for New York State Parks?

“This is my second tour in parks. I first started at Jones Beach in 2000 and left in 2004 but returned in 2015.” Having plenty of different interests, he mentions he now has an affinity for Jones Beach. “I think it was less about how the park was run and more about the people who run the parks, and that’s from top to bottom- the bosses, the directors, the first-year garbage pickers, the bathroom attendants... At first, I was like what did I get myself into? But you know, the thing is the first time working at Jones Beach was the first time I had margin in my life; experienced things that were actually good for me...My favorite thing was walking out on the board walk and watching the sunset while I took down the flags. It was just the quiet and the pretty colors and how the sun touches the water.”

What are some fun facts about you?

“One of the coolest things I did was a few days after 9/11 the Park Director back then [received] four gigantic American Flags, and we had hung them on each side of the tower... climbing up the inside of the tower seemed more fun than scary, but I realized there were only a couple people really willing to do it.”