Just a few weeks ago Westchester County boss Rob Astorino gave Sustainable Playland the nod to re-do the joint. Now the Board of Legislators is getting the runner up to talk, so it looks like the politics continue:
"Legislator Catherine Borgia, D-Ossining, said they invited the other groups in to get a fuller picture...
She and other legislators said the Standard Amusements plan had a lot of upsides, including having $25 million on hand to invest in the park.
Though Astorino deemed Sustainable Playland’s plan the best way to strengthen Playland’s finances and ease the burden on taxpayers, the group suffered a blow when two of its top leaders resigned after they were found to owe more than $200,000 in back property taxes.
Standard Amusements officials also had several criticisms of the plan by Sustainable Playland to reduce the number of rides in the amusement park and cover part of the parking lot with sports facilities. There were discussions about having the two groups work together on a plan for Playland, but Standard Amusements determined that an amusement area reduced by 30 percent was not viable, Singer said.
“From what I’ve seen as an operator, you’re just assigning a slow death to Playland as an amusement park,” Jack Falfas, who would manage the park for Standard Amusements, told the legislators. Falfas has run Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio; King’s Dominion in Richmond, Va.; and Knott’s Berry Farm in Orange County, Calif.
Sustainable Playland has planned for a 365-day operation that broadens the offerings at the park and has gotten a lot of positive feedback, said spokesman Geoffrey Thompson."
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