Playland's Future to Be Focus of April 15 Legislators' Committee Meeting

County legislators and representatives from County Executive Rob Astorino’s office are scheduled to meet ”on or before April 15 at 9 a.m.” to discuss the future of the Playland amusement park, but just what will be discussed is not entirely known.

Democratic Legislator Peter Harckham of North Salem, Chair of the Board of Legislators Labor, Parks, Planning and Housing Committee, announced during a recent the committee meeting that Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett “would forward to the BOL, the report on operations at Playland Amusement Park that was produced by Consultant Dan Biederman of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures.”

The report was commissioned by Astorino at a cost of $100,000, but Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz opposed the Biederman consulting contract.

Now Astorino’s office is saying that it will not turn over the report, but reps from the office will brief legislators on the park and the study’s contents, reports The Journal News.

The report is not yet complete, Astorino spokesperson Ned McCormick told The Journal News, but reps from the office are prepared to talk about it in “broad terms.”

According to Harckham, the Plunkett’s “committment” to turn over the report “forestalled a vote by the LPPH Committee to issue subpoenas to compel the administration to produce the document.”

Such subpoenas are back on the table, Harckham told The Journal News, unless Astorino’s office makes a “substantial presentation” or turns over “a substantial amount of material.”

In a statement, Harckham said, “I’m hopeful that the Astorino administration’s agreement to finally share this report with the Legislative branch will be a major step forward in selecting an operator for Playland. It is unfortunate that we will not have a private operator in place for the 2015 season but my colleagues and I on the Labor Parks Planning and Housing Committee look forward to getting to work on the approval process for a new operator as soon as the County Executive presents one to us.”

He added, “We’ve waited more than four months for this report and while we’ve been told many times that we would be receiving the report imminently, I am confident that the administration’s willingness to give a specific date means they will deliver. I look forward to discarding the subpoenas that we’ve drafted but until we’ve received Mr. Biederman’s report, all options remain on the table.”

Rye Legislator Catherine Parker, a member of the LPPH Committee, has tried to take an active role in the park’s future, in part because it is located in the area she represents.

“Many of my constituents, especially those who live near Playland, share the frustration of my colleagues and I at the lack of information on Playland’s future,” said Parker in a statement. “Previous proposals for things like a massive field house and the diminution of parking which would result have created serious concerns for local residents. I hope that the plan we are currently awaiting from the Astorino administration allows for the involvement of not just the Board of Legislators but the City of Rye and Playland’s neighbors as well.”

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