Seaside Johnnies Owners: New Rye Town Park Parking Prices Are Elitist

John Ambrose and his long-time business partner, Sam Chernin, paused in their preparations to get their new Polynesian-themed, seafood-oriented Pier Restaurant and Tiki Bar ready for its recent soft opening on the waterfront at Rye Playland to gaze across the boardwalk at their other Rye restaurant, the popular Seaside Johnnies--and what they saw was dollar signs going up in smoke.

They criticized the recent Rye Town Park Commission's decision to raise parking and beach access fees starting Memorial Day Weekend as elitist and a big-time money-loser for both their business as well as for the park itself and area taxpayers.

"What Rye doesn't need is another country club, but that's exactly what they are doing with Rye Town Park with their new differential pricing for residents and non-residents when it comes to parking and beach access," Ambrose told Rye Patch.

Ambrose, one of the owners of the moderately-priced restaurant fronting Oakland Beach, said the Commission's decision to raise prices and cut the number of parking spaces will reduce Seaside Johnnies' business by at least 25 percent and triple Rye Town Park's operating loss for next year.

As Chernin nodded in agreement, Ambrose said: "What troubles me is that the average blue collar worker and his family are going to be priced right out of the picture when it comes to Rye Town Park and Oakland Beach. And we were never really part of the equation, and we should have been. We pay a lot of money to be in Rye Town Park, and we've made a lot of improvements since we've been here over the past decade. So we should have had some input. And we didn't. And that's not fair."

But others have disagreed with Ambrose's assessment. At the April 28 Commission meeting when the pricing changes were implemented, Commission members, including Rye City Mayor Doug French, Rye Brook Mayor Joan Feinstein and Rye Town Supervisor Joseph Carvin, said the pricing changes would improve safety at the park and not leave a bigger dent in the park's budget, which ran a $90,000 deficit in 2009.

French said he believed the park would break even on its budget, not lose triple the amount of last year, because the increased revenue from differential pricing for upped beach access and decreased parking would more than make up for any decrease in attendance figures. Safety, environmental and ecological concerns were the prime movers behind the differential pricing, French said, stressing Rye is and always has been open to outsiders, and that the pricing increases are in line with 21 area peer parks and beaches.

Mayor Feinstein said she has long advocated increasing Rye Town Park's beach and parking access as a way of balancing the budget, pointing out that everything costs more nowadays, including the price of movie and Yankee tickets. Carvin pointed out that the park has been working closely with the community for more than a year now, and has listened carefully to their comments and implemented their suggestions, with safety the primary issue. And there was nothing elitist about changing the pricing structure to help balance the budget so that area taxpayers could best benefit from the park which, in season, is filled with more than 50 percent of attendees from outside the area.

The members of the Commission said they were working with Seaside Johnnies, a "good neighbor," according to French, to negotiate a fair discounted voucher system to offset potential restaurant attendance losses due to the new pricing procedure.

Ambrose said that he and his partner have really stepped up to the plate to make Seaside Johnnies what they call "a blue collar country club by the sea" with an affordable restaurant and beachside snack bar.

"Remember what it was like before we came in?" Ambrose asked rhetorically. "It was a biker's hangout, a college boy, speed drinking, beer swilling meeting place. We made it respectable. We work there 12-14 hours a day. And we got no respect from the Rye Town Park Commission in the decision-making differential pricing beach and parking process."

Ambrose said Seaside Johnnies gets 80 percent of its business from out-of-towners, and those patrons are, in effect, going to get sticker shock come the Memorial Day Weekend when they see it is going to cost around $21 for parking and beach access under the new formula.

Even with discounted parking vouchers supplied by Seaside Johnnies, including $3 to $4 off the restaurant bill, the new parking prices will probably cost Seaside Johnnies an estimated $100,000 in lost revenue, its owners argue, at a time when they are set to open their new million dollar Pier Restaurant and Tiki Bar, a Trader Vic's-style Polynesian-themed complex that will replace the old Captain Hooks, a more casual dining establishment. 

The new restaurant, 11 months in the making, will represent a considerable upgrade with three venues at the Playland Pier: a glass-enclosed full-service restaurant specializing in seafood and prime meat dishes, an outdoor Tiki bar opening on the seaside walk, and a self-service area on the Boardwalk side with a walk-up window catering to the fast-food crowd with seating for around 70.

There will also be a "dock-and-dine" service for boaters, a thatched roof Tiki Bar with six flat screen televisions and live bands for dancing five days a week.

Chernin and Ambrose have been partners in the restaurant business for more than 25 years. Ambrose started in the business as a waiter for Chernin's Sammy's Crab Shanty in City Island when he was senior at Iona College majoring in business. He eventually worked for the restaurant full-time after graduating.

Chernin, who has multiple degrees from schools ranging from Queens College to Harvard, started working in seafood restaurants when he was 8, rolling up his sleeves in family-owned City Island restaurants like Sammy's Fish Box, the Lobster Box, the Sea Breeze and more. He recognized a kindred spirit in Ambrose, both Bronx natives, and they branched out from City Island to the Crab Shanty in Mamaroneck in 1979, a venture that has grown into a national chain. Now all that hard work and expertise is being poured into their new Pier Restaurant as well as their established Seaside Johnnies.

But they are still awaiting what they called a "concrete proposal" from Rye Town Park about the so-called "good neighbor" policy, which, according to Commission members, would recognize all the improvements and rent Seaside Johnnies has made and paid over the past decade.

Ambrose and Chernin are looking at the possibility of a reduction in the cost of parking vouchers that Seaside Johnnies buys at a discount rate from Rye Town Park. They would pass those savings on to their customers, only nothing has been finalized as of yet, they said.

They also aren't impressed with the Commission's suggestion to wait a month and see how things go once the new pricing goes into effect, according to Ambrose.

"A month is almost a third of our summer season, and with a seasonal business, that's not good enough," Chernin said.

"We deserve a fair shake," Ambrose said. "And we haven't gotten one. Everything we've said has fallen on deaf ears. I understand the safety, environmental and ecological concerns about Rye Town Park. I also understand the business concerns, the bottom line.  In the final analysis, I hope the Rye Town Park Commission knows what they are doing."

"Because while I don't have a crystal ball, I think they are going to lose a bundle, triple their loss last year, he said. "Those upped parking beach and access fees are going to hurt Seaside Johnnies as well."