SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE PLAYLAND AMUSEMENT PARK! (Click here to view &  sign)

ABOUT THE PETITION AND CAUSE TO SAVE PLAYLAND AMUSEMENT PARK:

In August of 2010, Westchester County issued an RFP (Request For Proposals) in an effort to find a new direction for the management and functionality of Playland Amusement Park in Rye, NY. Playland Amusement Park has been a functioning family amusement park for 85 years, owned and operated by the Westchester County government as the Crown Jewel of the Westchester County Parks system, which is made up of over 50 different dedicated parklands.

As of February 2013 the RFP process has narrowed the selection down to proposals from four entities: LegoLand, Central Amusements Inc. (CAI), Standard Amusements and Sustainable Playland, Inc. (SPI).  In early October 2012, County Executive Rob Astorino signed a “Letter of Intent” with the group Sustainable Playland. As of March 2013 the contract has not been awarded to SPI officially, and there is an evaluation and audit review process under way by the Westchester County Board of Legislators.  The WC BOL made it’s first public informational presentation on the various proposals in February 2013 through a public meeting at the Westchester Count Center in White Plains, NY.

This website was developed by a group of concerned Westchester County residents who oppose the Sustainable Playland plan for a wide variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the SPI plan will drastically reduce the area of the amusement park in favor of playing fields and grassy areas. The web site’s goal is to raise awareness of the issue, provide information and direct interested signers to a petition asking the Westchester County Executive and Board of Legislators to select a future operator of Playland Amusement Park (located in Rye, New York) that will maintain Playland as a traditional and historic amusement park. The petition states the group’s belief that Playland should be operated by an experienced amusement park operator who will maintain and improve the existing amusement park including all historic buildings and structures, without shrinking the footprint of the amusement area or significantly decreasing the number of rides.

Sample of wording from the petition:
“Signatories support plans of Standard Amusements and/or Central Amusements International (CAI) as said proposals stood as of February 20, 2013. Both companies would improve the amusement park and invest in additional capital improvements, while respecting the property’s history and atmosphere. We believe that these proposals offer the strongest choices for the financial success of Playland.

Signatories are opposed to the proposal of Sustainable Playland Incorporated (SPI) as said proposal stood as of February 20, 2013. SPI plans to remove 30% of the rides and reduce the footprint size of amusement park by over 50%. We believe that decreasing the size of the amusement park and removing rides will drastically reduce the number of paying users of Playland.”
Click here to read the full text of the petition and sign!