WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – After six years at the helm, the executive director of the zoo in Watertown’s Thompson Park is retiring.
Larry Sorel’s retirement from Zoo New York is effective immediately. He has volunteered to help the zoo transition to new leadership.
The Thompson Park Conservancy runs the zoo. Its board chair, Dr. Mark Irwin, will volunteer as interim executive director.
The zoo has been struggling financially and announced last month that it will close for the winter with no date set for reopening.
The Watertown city council voted earlier this week to spend $60,000 to maintain the animals and facilities through the winter. The zoo says Sorel waited to announce his retirement until the finding was secured.
Sorel’s first experience with the local zoo was when he helped with cleanup and repairs following the 1998 ice storm.
He became executive director in 2018. Before that, he was executive director of Rochester’s Seneca Park Zoo for 20 years.
Sorel is credited with developing an organizational strategic plan and a facilities master plan. He also led the change in branding from the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park to Zoo New York at Thompson Park.
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