After much back-and-forthing, a scrapped press conference and an apparently prematurely hopeful comments by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a deal to keep the parks open for Memorial Day died today.

Gov. David Paterson got the final word on the subject during a Q&A with reporters earlier this afternoon (a recording of which was helpfully provided by the governor’s press office).

“There hasn’t been a deal that has been reached today,” Paterson insisted. When asked why the Senate set up for a press conference to announce a deal, the governor replied: “There hasn’t been a deal that’s been reached today.”

Paterson slammed the Senate for passing a measure calling for the parks to stay open when “we don’t have the money to pay for it,” adding that they “like to cajole and show off and perform for the public.”

He then said he remains optimistic there will someday be a budget deal, but less so that it will come any time soon.

“What I’m not optimistic about is that it’s taking so long to find $5 million to extend the opening of the parks through the summer when the Legislature is nearly $2 billion away from the executive branch in balancing the budget,” the governor said.

“If you multiply whatever time it takes to come up with $5 million to get to $2 billion, we’re going to be here a while.”

“And that’s what makes me pessimistic – just the fact that the Legislature is failing to grasp the magnitude of the economic rpoblems that are facing the state. “

Until mid-afternoon, Senate officials were sticking to their deal story. I ran into Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson aide Paul Rivera in the hallway here at the Rye Brook Hilton and told him I had heard the agreement had died. He said he hadn’t heard anything of the sort.

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