NY Times Details Growing Rye Playland Fight
It's a story of suing, threatening, quiting and running for Governor… The NY Times ran a piece on the battle that is Rye Playland, here are the best outtakes:
"Reinventing Rye Playland Ignites an Unexpected Battle
RYE, N.Y. — It seemed, on its face, an unassailable approach to reinventing Rye Playland, the Art Deco amusement park in this wealthy shore town, for the 21st century — innocuous even. Spiff up the amusement rides, expand the green space, and draw year-round visitors to the county-run park with new playing fields and restaurants.
But the park’s neighbors and Westchester County lawmakers have been battling the plan almost since it was announced — and a key player now threatens to drop out…
Mr. Astorino [Westchester County executive] , a Republican candidate for governor, selected a plan put forward by a group of Rye residents who formed a nonprofit group called Sustainable Playland Inc. They envisioned an amusement park with more park and fewer amusements, as well as year-round attractions including a large field house for lacrosse and soccer, and three outdoor athletic fields.
Planned features like a big field house upset some neighbors of the county-run attraction…
But no sooner had Mr. Astorino decided to turn the reins over to Sustainable Playland, through a management agreement, than critics pounced. A county lawmaker, Kenneth W. Jenkins, Democrat of Yonkers, sued the county executive, arguing that Mr. Astorino had improperly ceded control of Playland to a third party without seeking prior approval from the county’s Board of Legislators.
The lawsuit was dismissed, but Mr. Jenkins plans to appeal. He also filed a second lawsuit against the county, this time naming Sustainable Playland as well.
Meanwhile, the City of Rye has written threatening letters to the county, insisting that any changes at Playland must be reviewed by its planning commission and City Council.
“The City of Rye ought to have review approval on this project, just like we would with any other project,” Mayor Joe Sack, a Republican, said. “The fact that it’s a piece of county-owned property doesn’t make any difference.”…
With the threat of litigation hanging over Playland, however, and the intensifying dispute between Westchester and Rye over jurisdiction, Sustainable Playland recently said it would no longer take part in a review of the project by a committee of the County Legislature…
“They can’t drag this out forever,” Mr. Kaplowitz [Michael B. Kaplowitz, chairman of the Board of Legislators] said, referring to Sustainable Playland. But nor can Rye hold things up, he said. “The City of Rye is an interested party and one we want to include in the process,” Mr. Kaplowitz said. “But they don’t have veto power over a county park.”
