Lights Out at Rye Town Park

Another point I forgot to mention in this video is that Crawford Park in Rye Brook – also run by the Town of Rye and set to be jointly affected by these firings – has just been assigned a NEW CARETAKER. Yes, you read that correctly. There is a house on the grounds of Crawford Park, at the bottom of the hill on the way out, adjacent to the exit on Lincoln Avenue. This house has historically served as the “Caretaker’s Cottage”. There is currently an on-site, live-in Caretaker assigned to Crawford Park who lives there ON THE GROUNDS rent-free in exchange for a certain number of hours dedicated to the oversight of Crawford Park. Now, here’s a question: Since this is arranged and funded by Rye Town, and this person is hired by Rye Town, is this individual also responsible for making the trek down to Rye Town Park on a daily basis to check in on THAT location and make sure everything there is being attended to? To the best of my knowledge, this is not the case. Rye Town Park generates tens of thousands of dollars in revenue every year through beach and parking fees. I’d like to know the comparative numbers that Crawford Park generates through the rental of the Mansion and picnic area for parties and the fields for soccer and sports events. That park is pretty much empty all summer (which is why I go there during the summer months, since Rye Town Park is turned into a parking lot for the beach every summer). Nobody ever has to pay a fee to park at Crawford. Yet the grounds are beautifully maintained and there is no where near the evidence of blatant neglect and lack of upkeep at that park that you see at Rye Town Park. What’s wrong with this picture?

One by one , it dawns on Rye residents that basics such as clean/safe parks and road maintenance are getting eliminated despite our residents paying the highest property taxes and almost highest income taxes in the nation ……..and why ? Because we created a super class of unionized public workers whose salaries , pensions and benefits are far too generous than taxpayers will ever be able to support .

And guess what ? Its going to get far worse now that we are hitting breaking point .

Real incomes in USA are now down 4 straight years which means income taxes are lower and property taxes are at best stagnant while at same time , unions drain ever great % out of our tax revenues .

Its over Rye ( and NY state ) . You elected politicians who sold out to the unions and now you get what you deserve . Roads in Rye crumble and go 3rd world and now the parks start to fade . When home invasions / break-ins / robberies begin to really pick up in coming years , thats when the values of homes here completely collapses .

And then Rye becomes a smaller version of New Rochelle . And the few remaining grand properties get sliced up into rental properties and the schools collapse .

Grerat job Rye politicians ! You are allowing a well oiled Mercedes fall appart by the day

Good job, Deidre. Disgraceful, not you of course, but the state of Rye Town Park, and you are so right, it is what used to be one of Rye’s GEMS!

Divman I find that a little far fetched. Blame unions all you want but look at every politician in Rye from when Otis was in office to now. Lots of shady back room deals going on. Before the collapse of the economy in 08 unions were not blamed as much as they are now. Police and FF deserve what they get. Are u a cop or a FF? Do u know what it’s like?

Need Change : have you even read the budget ? Go look at what went out door in salaries as well as contributions to their pensions and benefits WILDLY more generous than private sector will ever see . Teachers in Rye system almost as 6 figures on average .

Do you own a house ? have a clue what people in other states pay in property taxes ? income taxes ? we are the highest payers in the nation and yet our roads are going 3rd world and now the parks can’t be maintained .

But go ahead and think its a GOP vs DNC Rye thing ……. Its the clueless Rye citizens getting just what they deserve . Pay the most in taxes bar none and get crap services back in return .

I don’t mean to be flip about this, but times are hard and things aren’t going to be perfect.

The light bulbs can be changed in a morning or afternoon, and should be as the lights are needed to ensure safety at night. The lights in the bathrooms should also be taken care of. Either just turn the switches off, or if they are hardwired into other services, then just unscrew the bulbs until late springtime.

Yeah, the bench can also be moved, but that is minor right now. Ditto the sign. Prop it up temporarily until the ground is softer and resources are available. I’m sure Jim and tedc and others could each list ten bigger/more important items to be taken care of than the signs.

Again, times are not great right now. Divman is disgusted at the amount of taxes we pay. Deidre is upset workers were let go. Someone is going to be unhappy. But when you are trying to cut back on expenses, services are (usually) reduced. If you feel that town workers are not working hard enough, then be prepared to back that up. As for waste, there is waste in every level of private and public projects.

Basically, I am more worried about the roads/sidewalks, crossing guards, etc. For the amount of taxes we are paying, you would think that all of these issues could be addressed. But alas, it doesn’t seem to be enough. I am sure that tedc has gone thru the budget with a fine-tooth comb. I would defer to him as to what areas can easily be cut. [This is where Jim chimes in “Yeah – start with the City Manager’s position!” just kidding jim…just kidding.]

And finally…don’t send the video to Rye Town. Draft an e-mail that can be read in a minute and easily passed on. Watching a nine-minute video to say light bulbs are out and there is a bench on the beach is not productive.

I was informed late this afternoon by Joe Sack, Doug French and Bishop Nowotnik via almost simultaneous emails that the bathroom lights have finally been turned off (I can verify this because I was there tonight and they are indeed off), that the signs out front will be fixed Tuesday morning and that there is an electrician who has committed to making sure that all the lights are working by the end of the week. So, the video was indeed quite effective…in the short term for these immediate problems. I fully understand that Rye as a community and the Town of Rye and all of our local communities face far bigger issues than lights being on in the bathrooms at the park, believe me. However, this speaks to a far larger issue which is, make the cuts, but what are you doing to make sure that basic services are being met in an alternative manor? Do I want to see anyone lose their job? No, of course not. But do I understand that times are tough and cuts need to be made? Yes, of course I do. It’s the way this was done that does not sit well, and the fact that in good times or bad, Rye Town Park is sorely neglected. That’s only going to get worse now. That’s not good for anybody’s property values here in town. And while I myself am NOT a property owner (I walk dogs for a living, so there’s no way I can afford a house in Rye), I DO live here in a rental apartment. And I pay a hell of a high rent for the luxury of living this zip code. And in turn, my Landlord, the property owner, uses my rent money to pay the taxes. So yeah, I do pay property taxes in this town. I appreciate that when a light was shone on this situation it was quickly addressed, but why did it take this just to get people to do their jobs?

Don’t apologize, Deidre. Your post surely hit a few nerves in an election year. How about following up later in the week with another video, listening devices in the back rooms of Rye City Court, Rye City Hall, and closed door commission meetings at Rye Golf Club. I have heard that the lumber is about to come down in an area or two over the upcoming weeks, at least enough to keep the corporate counsel relevant and productive. Yes, then there is the infrastructure and crossing guards. Regarding the infrastructure, I wonder what connections the Oakland Beach Avenue residents had?

Deirdre, I rarely visit RTP in the off-season, so I am not sure what you mean by the park is “sorely neglected.” What other issues are there that were not in your video?

And I’m glad to hear that the issues you pointed out are scheduled to be corrected.

@ Avg.,

“AND YET SOMEHOW MR. SCOTT PICKUP IS STILL EMPLOYED HERE IN RYE??????????????????????????????”