Rye PlaylandMarch 11, 2011 -- County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced Friday that the county has received 11  proposals from groups interested in “reinventing Playland for the 21st century.” The next step in the process is for the feasibility of each proposal to be evaluated by the citizens committee he recently appointed.   

“The level of interest in Playland and its future is impressive,” said Astorino. “We now look to our citizens committee for its input.”

In soliciting RFPs (“requests for proposals”) last year, Astorino said he was looking for bold ideas to bring Playland into the 21st century. The county-owned amusement park in the City of Rye presently loses about $4 million a year, including operating and capital improvements. 

The 11 proposals received by the county run the gamut from broad-based plans for the entire property to those that focus exclusively on the amusement park, the boardwalk or the ice casino. Elements of some of the proposals include new attractions, enhancement of rides, indoor and outdoor ball fields and  an educational/science component to the entire park.  

The proposals were from:

  • Boardwalk Arts of Rye
  • State Fair Group of Bellville, NJ
  • TPC Rye, a division of Paidia Co. of Baton Rouge, LA
  • Central Amusements International of Boonton, NJ
  • ASATI/Stonehill, a joint venture of Air Structures American Technologies of Rye Brook and the Stonehill Group of Westport, CT
  • Standard Amusements of New York City
  • Valentine Creative Marketing of Rye
  • American Skating Entertainment Centers of Elmsford
  • Sustainable Playland of Rye
  • Q Properties of Norwalk, CT
  • Playlandwatch.org  (no address)

Last week, Astorino appointed a 19-member citizen committee made up of representatives from the city and town of Rye, the county Board of Legislators, business, and real estate, as well environmentalists, park experts and park users. The committee is chaired by Jim Chisholm, chairman of the county’s Parks Board. Before the committee receives the proposals, the county will remove confidential and proprietary information, so as to safeguard the interests of all the parties involved.

The committee’s role is to evaluate the 11 proposals based on what are being called the “5 E’s.” 

  • Economics – Does the proposal offer a financially viable long-term business model? While the county does not expect to make a profit at the park, the current fiscal situation cannot continue.
  • Environment – Is the proposal appropriate to local surroundings, area zoning and the environment?
  • Entertainment – Is the proposal consistent with the purpose of a park?
  • Experience – Can the county feel confident about the proposer’s track record with respect to finances, customer service, safety and deadlines?
  • Expectations – Is the proposal realistic?

The citizens committee will be responsible for submitting a written report on the feasibility of the proposals. The expectation is that the committee would have its report completed by the end of June, however, this is not a hard deadline should the committee need more time.  The committee is expected to meet for the first time in early April. The committee’s report would then be integrated into the formal RFP process. At that point, confidential and proprietary information will be evaluated by the county.

Under the RFP process, the county is not obligated to accept any of the proposals. 

The hope is that the county executive will have enough information to set a direction for moving forward, or not, on the RFP’s by the end of November. The implementation phase, which would include contract negotiations and obtaining all the necessary legal, financial, environmental, local and other approvals, would follow, assuming a decision had been made to move forward on a proposal or combination of proposals. It’s estimated that the implementation phase would take several years to complete.

This year, Playland will open for the season in May, operating in a similar manner to last season.

Since 1928, the focal point of the property has been the amusement park, which today has 50 major rides and attractions and covers about 30 acres. The prototype of today’s modern theme parks, Playland was the country’s first totally planned amusement park. Seven of its rides and several of its art deco buildings are designated as National Historic Landmarks.

Westchester County currently owns and operates the park – one of only a handful of governmental bodies to be in the amusement park business. With attendance steadily dropping over the past five years – from 1 million in 2005 to 494,000 in 2010 – park ownership has translated into greater taxpayer subsidies.