Latimer Promises Playland Pool Will Reopen In Time For Next Summer

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Westchester County Executive George Latimer on Monday addressed the renovations that have kept Westchester residents out of the water at Playland Park in Rye.

"We’re undergoing the second and final year of the two-year re-do of the Playland pool and that we expect will be opened in time for next season, next year," Latimer said. "So that will be back online."

His comments came during his weekly update on Monday. Latimer earlier announced that the wave pool at Willson Woods in Mount Vernon would be closed for the remainder of the year because of technical issues. County-owned Rye Playland Beach and Pool did not open at all this summer because of ongoing renovations. Croton Point Park also has capital projects taking place on weekdays.

Playland Park and Playland Beach and Pool are Westchester County-owned properties that are now managed by Standard Amusements.

“We are continuing to try to operate our parks and our recreation for the summer as a county and the local governments as well with as much inclusion and involvement," Latimer said. "So, we have four pools that are open at Saxon Woods in White Plains, Tibbetts Brooks in Yonkers, Sprain Ridge in Yonkers and also Willson Woods in Mount Vernon. We have two beaches that are open on the weekend, Glen Island in New Rochelle and Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson."

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The Westchester County Executive said that the closures at some of the most popular county-owned spots to beat the heat are unfortunate, but necessary.

"Having just redone the Sprain Ridge pool a couple of years ago, we’re doing the Playland pool now, we know that we must make capital investments in our infrastructure and if we don’t do that, we're going to have problems like this come up and in some ways, we’re catching up for years of lack of investment in those capital projects," Latimer explained.

Westchester County residents, who normally count on the Playland Beach and pool for fun in the sun, have the option of visiting other beaches along the boardwalk, including Rye Town Park, but as crowds migrated from the shuttered Playland beach, the municipally-owned beach next door has gradually added restrictions setting aside holiday weekends for season pass holders and residents.

“Despite our best efforts, the critical infrastructure necessary to operate Playland Beach and Pool is still under construction due to delays from the contractor," Standard Amusements officials told Patch in a statement. "We look forward to opening both next year with updated amenities."

As recently as this spring, the Office of the County Executive touted the administration's involvement in upgrades at Playland Park and Beach.

Westchester County Communications Director Catherine Cioffi issued a statement calling Playland Park "a crown jewel of the County, and that is why County Executive George Latimer made it a top priority to reinvest in the Park — more so than any other recent County Executive," per a May 2, article in Westchester Magazine. Cioffi’s statement also said that the county is investing more than $125 million on the infrastructure needs of the park, according to the magazine. “We are looking forward to the summer months, when the children of Westchester County will be making memories at Playland once again,” she added.

This summer, however, as Westchester County residents began to realize they were effectively shut out of Playland Beach, the administration seemed to abruptly change its position. Westchester County Government posted on their Facebook page that "Standard Amusements runs Playland and Beach — not the Westchester County Government."

"The county has nothing to do with Playland, nothing," Cioffi told Patch in late June.

When Playland Park reopened last summer after being closed during the height of the pandemic, Westchester County Executive Latimer described the restoration work at Playland in personal terms. He recalled taking a bus from his Mount Vernon home when he was only seven years old to ride the carousel and spend the day at the beach with his family.

At least for now, Mount Vernon families no longer have that same option as Playland Beach sits vacant.

This story was updated to include a statement from Standard Amusements.