SPI Fact Sheet Responds to Resident Concerns

An email dated Oct. 22 from one of Sustainable Playland Inc.'s founders, John Abate, to several residents was forwarded to Rye Patch this morning. Abate writes that the email addresses "every point that the vocal minority has brought up against Sustainable Playland and specifically the Playland Sports element of the plan."

He provides information on noise, traffic, lighting and other concerns about the proposed $12 million, 95,000 square-foot Field house at Playland.

Read the full email here: 

Sustainable Playland Fact Sheet

There are many issues that have been mischaracterized with respect to the Field Zone portion of Sustainable Playland.  We at Playland Sports, in conjunction with Sustainable Playland and Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, have provided a list of the issues and the facts associated with each below.  A virtual video of the park is on YouTube under the following link:

http://jmcpc.smugmug.com/Projects/13010-2013-1022/32910106_vXzPkn#!i=2851797344&k=scQ9np2

A public meeting regarding the sports facility is tentatively scheduled for November 20th.  More details from SPI will follow.  Thank you for your support for SPI. 

Height and Location of the Building

Note the height of the building at 35 feet is 5 feet lower than the existing peak of the maintenance buildings which are 40 feet in height.  Also note that the building is located behind the existing maintenance buildings and was designed to maintain the existing sight lines to the Long Island Sound from adjacent properties.  Therefore, the maintenance buildings hide the views of the sports facility and the parking from these residences.  The outdoor fields and interior landscaping will soften an area currently covered by an asphalt parking lot.   

Lighting

The existing parking lot lighting at the Playland dates back several decades. The lighting standards are not very effective.  The existing lights are approximately 40 feet high and not focused down on the parking area; rather they project in a 360 degree pattern.  These lights illuminate the entire parking lot all night, 365 days a year.  The Field Zone parking area will have new LED Solid State lighting standards with a 30 foot mounting height.  The lighting will be shielded to mitigate lighting trespass onto adjoining properties.  Unlike the existing parking lot lights, which are left on throughout the night, the proposed lighting will be on timers that will shut off the lights except for safety and security lighting.  Stated succinctly, the New Lighting will be a dramatic improvement to the existing 24 hour dated lighting system that lights the entire parking lot.

Housing Value

It is true that we have not commissioned a report on the effect on property values from the addition of the fields.  However, we have met with several realtors and have only heard positive feedback and excitement about the project and what it will do for housing pricing in Rye.  They are the professionals.  If they believed the project would be detrimental to property values, they would have been vocal from the outset.  This plan has been out for several years and no single realtor or anyone one else that would be considered knowledgeable on the subject has even hinted that it could be an issue.  It is hard to imagine that the year round usage will be an issue versus prior years when only 10% of the available parking spots are anticipated to be used between October and May. 

Noise

The air handling units for the facility will be on the roof and on the east half of the building.  They will be approximately 250 feet from any residential property and 30 feet in the air.  These are state of the art high efficiency units which require less energy and to operate and produce far less noise than most in existence today.

Traffic and Parking

An extensive study was completed evaluating all components of Playland during its peak times of July and August as well as the non-peak times or the majority of the year when the amusement park is closed.  The traffic analysis considers the Field Zone and the traffic associated with the change in management for the Casino Ice Skating Rink, the proposed Westchester Children’s Museum and potential increases in amusement park patrons projected six years after the amusement park new management is in place.  The analysis considers the maximum annual attendance forecasted by the amusement park in year 6.   Through reconfiguration of the parking and added efficiencies, traffic and parking engineers have determined that the proposed parking is sufficient for the entire project, other than the 4th of July when Playland has historically had parking problems.  An 800 page report is on file with the County that (at a cost of well into six figures) demonstrates there is no parking or traffic problem with the SPI plan.  This is basic business – when there is an issue of concern, hire a very reputable professional to tell you what the problems are and how to fix them.  In this case we hired John Meyer Consulting and we are happy to report that all problems have been addressed and there really is nothing more to say on the subject.  Many people have been saying there is a parking problem, but once they take the time to look at the study and understand the facts, they realize traffic and parking will not be a problem for SPI.  There are no plans, nor will there ever be plans, for parking on the adjacent side streets or along Playland Parkway.  

Replacing Asphalt with Fields

Replacing part of the parking lot with fields and landscape will result in an impervious surface reduction of approximately 3.8 acres. This includes approximately 3.4 acres of outdoor fields and ±0.4 acres of new pervious surfaces in the form of landscaped areas. This 32.4 percent reduction in impervious area along with additional water quality treatment proposed by SPI represents a very significant improvement to water quality discharged to Manursing Lake (Playland Lake).

Art Deco Style

Playland Park was designed in primarily the Art Deco Style with significant structures drawing on the Spanish Revival style. This uniformity of design and architecture is a unique and important characteristic of the Park. In undertaking the design of the proposed indoor sports facility, care was taken to respect the historic fabric of the Park while incorporating modern, forward looking features. Accordingly, the exterior of the proposed facility is designed in a contemporary style that respects the Park's Art-Deco architecture and adds subtle features that draw upon Spanish Revival nuances.

Financing

The PIP is being entirely privately funded by the operators with no need for financing from the county.  This proposed 34mm improvement to Playland will be 100% the property of the county.  The benefit to the operators is the ability to operate a sub-asset management agreement for 10 years.  Clearly this is beneficial to the county as 34mm is being privately invested on county property and on Day 1 those investments are COUNTY PROPERTY.  Furthermore, the proposal is accretive to county finances, not an annual 3-5mm bleed which was the reason the RFP for Playland was proposed in the first place.