Tensions Continue to Flare in Rye Town Park Debate

New parking prices have been in effect for less than a month at Rye Town Park, but the argument about whether these changes should have been implemented in the first place seems to be never ending.

At Tuesday's Rye Town Park Commission meeting, the owners of Seaside Johnnies, John Ambrose and Sam Chernin, spoke about the hardship they said they've endured since the new parking prices began during the Memorial Day weekend.

Chernin blasted "newbie zealots with questionable motives," for trying to make the park more exclusive, a not-so-veiled reference to the members of the Rye Town Park Task Force, a group comprised of mostly Rye City residents who have pushed for higher differential parking prices between residents and non-residents. 

"A few people living around the park want the park as there own private domain without regard to the citizens of Rye Brook, Port Chester and the like," Chernin said.

"Everybody knew the deal when they bought their house," Ambrose said of Rye residents who live near the park and have complained about the traffic congestion during the summer months.

Ambrose said his business is down 40 percent since the parking changes, which increased non-resident weekday parking from $8 to $12 and increased weekend and holiday parking to $15 and $20, respectively. Though the park has subsidized parking for the restaurant's patrons, allowing them to pay only $5 for parking, Ambrose said that isn't enough.

He said the 40 percent decline is not "a happy number for any businessman," but several members of the Commission questioned that figure and objected to Ambrose and Chernin's arguments that the situation at Rye Town Park is an issue of social class and exclusivity, rather than public safety and fiscal responsibility. 

"If people bring issues to the Commission, we have to listen," Rye Brook Mayor Joan Feinstein said. "It doesn't mean that we were cajoled or forced [to make changes]. I think that it's unnecessary rhetoric. "

Rye Councilman Joe Sack said Ambrose and Chernin have unfairly framed the argument as a class issue.

"That you would use this opportunity to pepper your comments with the blue collar vs. white collar line [isn't right]," he said. "I think we're beyond that type of division among different groups. "

During the meeting, Rye Town Park Director Fred Gioffre presented a report on revenue and attendance at the park.

Gioffre said the park's total revenue as of June 13 was $202, 276, putting it $48,000 ahead of last year's revenue.

The park has already generated $37,000 in parking revenue, a 70 percent increase compared to last year. Most of the parking revenue is from non-residents. Based on beach attendance, 87 percent of the more than 10,000 people attending the park are non-residents, Gioffre said, meaning they aren't residents of the city or town of Rye. 

Gioffre did not present any data on the park's expenses, so it isn't yet known whether the park is running ahead or below the $90,000 deficit it had last year.

The Commission, which includes mayors from Rye Brook, Rye City and Port Chester, as well as Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin, also made adjustments to some of the proposed parking changes, which caused some confusion among visitors to the park and beach during the Memorial Day weekend.

Rye Town Park experienced some mishaps during the holiday weekend, though it had record breaking attendance and revenues, as well. 

The parking lot was closed for short intervals before noon on the peak days of Saturday, Sunday and Monday, which led to traffic jams in the area around Forest Avenue and Dearborn Avenue. Many park and beach visitors were also confused about why they had to pay a holiday parking fee during the entire weekend.

On Tuesday, the Commission decided that the holiday parking rate would just apply to the actual holiday and not the entire weekend, which means that non-residents visiting the park on July 4th and Labor Day will have to pay $20 on only those days.

The Commission also decided to grandfather in senior citizens who had held permits under the old pay structure, not subjecting them to the new $30 fee for permits. 

Permit holders will be allowed to park for free for the July 4th fireworks celebration, while non-residents will pay $20 to park before 6 p.m. and $10 to park after that time.

The Commission said it will continue to discuss the parking procedures and prices at Rye Town Park. It will evaluate and monitor the situation at the park over the summer and decide whether the current changes will be long-term.