NY Dragons GM Peter Schwartz, Others Step Down Before Season Starts

UNIONDALE, NY — The return of arena football on Long Island is off to an inauspicious and disappointing start as New York Dragons' front office, including GM Peter Schwartz, suddenly resigned on Monday,.

Schwartz, who was an announcer for the orignal Dragons version in the early 2000s, was quickly promoted to general manager role after landing numerous media outlets for the Dragons' return announcement earlier this year.

"I'm disappointed it came to this. The three of us worked very hard but at the end of the day we collectively were not happy with the direction of the league," Schwartz said in a statement to Patch.

The other two execs that Schwartz referenced were Sean Wachter, director of operations, and Marilynne Rich, director of business development.

But in April, Schwartz was all smiles on the "Patch Weekly Spotlight," excited about the future for the Dragons on Long Island.

"We felt that if the Dragons' name was available, and people wanted that name back, then that's what we were going to go with," Schwartz said at the time. "Obviously, the name is nostalgic here on Long Island."

While it's not clear what took place behind-the-scenes, the inaugural Entertainment Football Association (ENTFLA) season getting delayed is likely the culprit. The Dragons were scheduled to start on Saturday in Danbury. However, the opener was moved to the foilowing weekend at the Nassau Coliseum. But Newsday reported that date won't happen either due to a new scheduling format.

In March, the Dragons hired Gerald Filardi as their head coach and director of football operations.