A petition being circulated favors keeping the entire amusement area as part of any re-invention of the Rye park, Specifically it asks folks not to support the option presented by Sustainable Playland since it shrinks the amusement area.
The petition has received over 600 signatures on change.org. Support of the same issue is seen in this Facebook group and this opinion piece in LoHud.com.
"This petition asks that the Westchester County, NY Executive and Board of Legislators select a future operator of Playland Amusement Park in Rye, New York which will maintain Playland as a traditional and historic amusement park without reducing the footprint of the amusement area.
Signatories of this petition want Playland to be operated by an experienced amusement park operator which will maintain and improve the existing amusement park including all historic buildings and structures, without shrinking the footprint of the amusement area or decreasing the number of rides.
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."
The petition is an interesting idea, but of the first 100 or so “signers” 50 were from outside NY state. Of the remaining 50, 10 were from outside the county. So, the petition’s race to 600+ signers would not seem to be representative of Westchester County tax payers and residents.
I would be very disappointed if the County Legislators are overtly influenced by this petition. Petitions are usually overblown. It takes all of 5 seconds to sign one’s name, and maybe twice that time to hear the gist of the idea. Most sign without becoming fully informed. Yet politicians are supposed to bend to the “will of the people” because a small group of energized people got a few hundred to sign their name to a sheet of paper. Does anyone check the accuracy of these signatures? Are those people signing the petition fully informed? Are they paying for the fiscal sinkhole known as Playland? From what Bob tells us, the answer is no, at least for 60% of the first 100 signers.
Elected representatives should be using their best judgment in deciding what’s best for the county. With close to a million residents in Westchester, the 600 is less than one tenth of 1 percent of the population. God help us all if our county legislators lack a backbone to ignore this petition.
Hey Matt,
Did you actually write this???
ROTFF LMFAO!!!
Thank You for this, I needed a good laugh going into these next 3 meetings….GOOD LORD MATT!!!
“Elected representatives should be using their best judgment in deciding what’s best”
Good point Matt. I agree.
Are you running for elected office this year? You have my vote.