County Legislators to Host Public Info Session on Playland Proposals

 The Westchester County Board of Legislators will host a public information session on Wednesday, Feb. 13 in consideration of the four proposals they have received to revitalize Playland, the 280-acre County Park and National Historic landmark located in Rye and owned by the county.

However, in October, County Executive Rob Astorino announced that the county will be signing a management agreement for the revitalization with Sustainable Playland, Inc., a non-profit created for that purpose.

But at the time of the announcement, which was a spectacle with a marching band and balloons, democratic members of the BOL said they had not been informed of the decision until that day, questioned the SPI plan’s viability and said would need to consider Playland proposals themselves. Astorino called the opposition an attempt to “throw red tape” at the process and said it would “hasten the drain to tax payers.”

Since then, the BOL Government Operations Committee outlined goals for the decision process, met with several groups to discuss their proposed modifications to the park, financial viability and operations management. They have now selected four that will present on Feb. 13: Sustainable Playland, Standard Amusements, Central Amusements and the Paidia Company. The public can attend and visit each of the four vendor areas, look at materials and ask questions. At 7:30 PM there will be an hour-long Q & A period in which people can make comments about the proposals as well. The event will be held at The Little Theater at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

 Legislator Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining), Chair of the Government and Operations Committee, will moderate the proceedings, although it is expected that those representing the four different proposals will be answering most of the questions.

 “I think this public information session will be an excellent opportunity for concerned residents and business owners to be engaged in the process of revitalizing Playland and see for themselves what each proposal offers in terms of enjoyment and economic viability,” Borgia said.

“This iconic park has created so many great memories for generations of Westchester residents, so we should ensure that Playland’s long-term future moves in the right direction. Because once the contracts are signed there will be no chance for second-guessing.”

Links to each of the Playland proposal presentation can be found on the Government Operations Committee page on the BOL website.

You can read more about the SPI plan here on Patch. 

An email Astorino's office seeking comment was not returned by publication time.