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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A committee charged with evaluating the feasibility of the 12 proposals for redeveloping Rye Playland officially presented its findings at a press conference Thursday to County Executive Robert Astorino.
"Playland does not need cosmetic surgery," said Astorino. "It needs major surgery."
Astorino appointed the Citizens Committee, a 17-member group of county business leaders, elected officials and residents, to produce a report evaluating the merits of each proposal with the intent of incorporating public input into the process."There is no simple 'silver bullet' solution to the future of Playland Park and no such solution emerged during the Committee's review," the Committee stated in its report.The report, now available on the county's website under the title "Reinventing Playland Park for the 21st Century," found none of the 12 current proposals to present a single solution for moving the park toward profitability, though it stated certain aspects of multiple proposals could be combined to present a viable model.
The committee's report is intended to assist with the next phase of Astorino's Playland redevelopment initiative, which will involve a formal review process of each proposal by the county's legal, financial and parks teams."Our job was not to decide the future of Playland," said the Committee Chairman Jim Chisholm. "It was to provide a citizens perspective to the process as a way of helping the county make the best decision possible for the future of the park."
Astorino said the park is running a $5 million deficit this year, $2 million due to revenue losses from a drop in attendance and $3 million in capital investments, which are used to maintain the park.
"Running an amusement park at a $5 million loss is not an option anymore," said Astorino.
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