For decades, Westchester County has grappled with the question of how to keep Playland financially viable, modern and relevant while sticking to its historic roots.
The concerns are understandable. In 2012, the amusement park, ice casino and beach and pool complex are projected to carry a net operating cost to the county of $3.43 million once all revenues are accounted for.
In response to mounting deficits, County Executive Rob Astorino last year issued a call seeking proposals for the park”™s future and charged a 17-member citizens committee with vetting the 12 responses submitted to the county.
It has been eight months since the committee filed its 83-page report on the proposals and there is still no word on how close Astorino may be to making a decision.
In a January speech, Astorino said his administration was reviewing the proposals and planned to announce the next step in the process as early as April.
Now, though, Astorino representatives say the earliest an announcement will come is the end of the summer.
“We hope to have a direction by the end of the Playland season,” said Astorino spokeswoman Donna Greene. “The goal is to do it right and to do it well and there are just so many complex elements to it.”
Greene said that all options are still on the table, including merging parts of different proposals.
For the past several months, representatives of the companies that submitted proposals have been meeting with members of the Astorino administration to provide greater detail about their plans.
While administration representatives have said all 12 are still being considered, the citizens committee labeled three proposals as being responsive to the request for proposals and feasibility criteria and deserving of further attention.
Those plans were submitted by Central Amusements International L.L.C., based in Boonton, N.J., Standard Amusements L.L.C., based in New York City and Sustainable Playland Inc., based in Rye.
Representatives of Central Amusements International and Sustainable Playland said they understood the complexities involved in deciding the park”™s future, but the latter expressed some concern about the length of the review process.
“Sustainable Playland is a true grassroots initiative,” said spokesman Geoff Thompson in a statement, adding that the group is a nonprofit founded with the sole intention of giving residents the opportunity to shape the park”™s future.
“We are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the county executive”™s review of the responses to his RFP (request for proposals),” Thompson said.
Central Amusements International President Valerio Ferrari said he too hasn”™t heard back from the Astorino administration about the county”™s presumed direction, but said he understood the risks associated with submitting such a proposal.
“We”™re a private organization and we understand the risk involved in responding to requests for proposals like this,” Ferrari said. “We welcome the opportunity. We have some costs but we”™re going to bear the costs.”
Representatives of Standard Amusements declined to comment for this article.
