'People Don't Want to See Playland Destroyed,' Says Ryan

Yesterday's surprise announcement by Rob Astorino that Westchester County had with Sustainable Playland left some local politicos baffled—like county legislator Bill Ryan, who represents White Plains.

"I though this announcement was premature; there's more work to be done and questions that need to be answered," Ryan, a Democrat, told Patch.

Astorino, the sitting Westchester County executive, is a Republican.

"It was still my impression that this was under review," Ryan added. "I though that the objective here was for the executive and legislative branches to work together to look at the top proposal."

Astorino's agreement—which still needs sigantures—would place the county-subsidized, iconic waterfront park in the hands of Sustainable Playland for one decade. In return, the private group would work to pay down the county's $35 million debt for facility.

Playland losses have been costing county taxpayers between $3 million and $5 million annually in recent years.

Sustainable Playland would also preserve the iconic Dragon Coaster ride, abolish admission fees and pay a percentage of funds back to the county as part of a public-private partnership, Astorino said Thursday.

(For comprehensive details on the Sustainable Playland plan, click here.)

And though Astorino hailed the agreement as a coup, and one that would allow the park "to thrive for generations to come," Ryan disagrees.

"My vision of Playland is an amusement park like the one people have enjoyed for over 85 years," he said. "That's not what I'm hearing from Sustainable Playland—they seem to want to tear a major part of it down, and change it into something more in line with the desires of certain folks in Rye."

Ryan stressed that "people don't want to see Playland destroyed," and noted the Sustainable Playland blueprint contains "red flags."

Ryan also assailed the timing and mechanics behind the announcement.

"I was surprised that the county executive held the press conference, and announced that he was just going to push this through," he said.

"We have four proposals that are being looked at know, and one is Sustainable Playland," Ryan added. "The other is for the county to invest in Playland itself... [and] we have resources and tools to run park. That's been a problem in recent years, as we've never really stepped up to the plate to do that."

Playland is slated to open its doors next on Saturday, May 11. For the 2013 season, the park will be operated—as in the past—by the county’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, subsidized with county funds.

Bill Ryan is hoping to unseat Rob Astorino as county executive in this coming November's election.