Deal for private Playland manager nixed
Plans to turn over management of a popular amusement park in Rye, N.Y., one that draws visitors from around the region and southern Connecticut, have been terminated.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said this week the county was scrapping a deal for Standard Amusements, a private company, to run Playland. The agreement with Standard Amusements was worked out by the previous county administration to revive the struggling and money-losing facility.
According to Latimer, the county administration was displeased by a number of steps taken, or not taken, by Standard Amusements. The executive said millions the company was to have spent on improvements went instead to high-priced lawyers and public relations executives.
Latimer had been seeking to revise the agreement with
Standard Amusements before terminating the contract this week. The company was to take over management in November and had pledged to spend $27.5 million on park improvements. The county was set to spend $33 million in capital investment.
“We have seen leaks of false information to the press; the hiring of a highpriced public relations firm and the hiring of a legal firm committed to defending the company’s corporate interests rather than spending those resources delivering a detailed marketing plan,” Latimer wrote in a statement released earlier this week. “The energy spent by Standard to influence lawmakers to defend their original agreement could have been better spent in a more wide ranging effort to win over those in the community that did not want to see a corporate entity take over a public park facility.”
Ultimately, he said, Standard breached its contract.
“Standard Amusements has improperly claimed that it invested money in Playland, when in reality that money was not spent on purposes allowed under the agreement. Standard Amusements is wasting taxpayer dollars at the end of the day.
“The company had claimed it invested over $5.7 million in the park, but an audit had proven otherwise. Instead, this money was spent on salaries, meals, travel, advertisements, marketing, consulting fees and legal fees.”
In response to the county’s decision, Standard Amusement issued the following statement:
“This decision by the county executive is deeply disappointing and devastatingly false. Standard Amusements’ perfectly valid conduct was never controversial under the prior administration, and this move is nothing more than a means to improperly terminate a 30-year contract that was twice approved by super majorities of the Westchester Board of Legislators. It exposes taxpayers to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from Playland’s extensive capital needs and needless litigation. The administration has been negotiating in bad faith and, despite numerous requests, Mr. Latimer has been unwilling to meet with Standard Amusements since November 2018.
“This course of action also directs attention away from the County’s complete mishandling of food safety, failure to secure the wooden Dragon Coaster, and lack of proper fire suppression technology at Playland. Standard Amusements has worked for nine years and spent more than $10 million on its mission to save Playland. Despite Mr. Latimer’s mismanagement and complete disregard for visitor safety, Standard Amusements remains more committed than ever to restoring Playland to its former glory. By this action, the County Executive has chosen the worst path possible for Westchester County taxpayers, Playland, and Standard Amusements.”
The amusement park, a short drive from Greenwich, opened in 1928. Its most famous attraction is the Dragon Coaster.
The only municipally owned amusement park in the country, it has been steadily losing money, while in need of a major overhaul. In May 2016, the administration of County Executive Rob Astorino agreed to give control of the park to Standard Amusements, a company backed by a Manhattan hedge fund.
Playland is set to open for the season May 11.