Amusement Park News

After only three years of operating Playland Amusement Park in Rye, New York, Standard Amusements wants out. Nicholas Singer, Standard’s co-founder, wants to terminate its 30-year deal privatizing the iconic park, a deal which began in 2022.

Singer’s decision and his demands to Westchester County are a far cry from his described affinity for operating it based on riding the attractions at Playland as a child. Now Singer and company is after some $57 million in damages and repayment for its investments in the park.

Westchester County exec Ken Jenkins received a letter stating Singer’s demands on January 23rd of this year, the receipt of which was hardly surprising. The county’s relationship with Standard Amusements has always been rocky, according to county legislator Catherine Parker. She stresses that the county should run Playland, noting that the relationship between the county and Standard has not been good from the start.

However, the split between the county and Standard is complicated by the fact that Singer claims Westchester County owes it a whopping sum of money, because the county failed to finish 70 percent of the capital work for Playland by April 2024. This was a requirement in the contract between Standard and the county.

Singer further cites the failure to meet that date now entitles Standard to receive $11 million in liquidated damages as well as repayment of any funds invested into the park by Standard, all topped by 12% interest accrued from the time of the company’s initial investment. Standard Amusements further demanded the county make this payment to them by the 21st of May 2025, and that failure to do so would elevate the interest payment to 18%.

However, Westchester County isn’t giving into these demands for money so easily. Attorney John Nonna has written that the initial contract with Standard allows the county to cure the alleged default within a greater time frame, "as long as the county immediately takes steps necessary to remedy” it diligently.  

Recently appointed county executive Jenkins asserted that the agreement between Standard Amusements and the county also called for a payment that is considerably less than the alleged $57 million claimed by Standard.

The backstory to the agreement is somewhat complex. Rob Astorino, a former county executive specifically chose Standard Amusements to privatize the park. The agreement was reluctantly concluded by his immediate successor, George Latimer who is now serving in Congress. Jenkins took over for Latimer just this year, having served as Latimer’s deputy.
 
Jenkins may be new on the job, but he is not giving into Singer and Standard Amusement’s demands easily, supported by Westchester Parks Commissioner Kathleen O'Connor. Her recent assertion in a letter addressed to Singer was that the county had indeed met its obligation to hit the 70% threshold for capital improvements before Standard sent the notice. This fact means that Standard’s announcement reneging on managing the park for 2025 was an act of default.

She also noted that Standard had already breached its contract with the county in 2024, when it failed to operate many of the park’s rides on June weekends, when nearly half of the park’s rides and attractions were not running.

In addition, Standard Amusements had not paid the 2023 management fee it owed, an amount of $400,000. Its reason for not doing so was that the county had failed to meet its project deadlines for improvement projects. For its part, the county reports that it did complete the required projects in November 2024.

Regardless of who did what to whom, former county exec Astorino’s privatization plan has been a disaster from the start. Astorino had long insisted that rather than the county government managing the park, a private company should do so -- and he chose Standard Amusements as that company. When Latimer entered office, he attempted to put a stop to this plan, but Standard Amusements filed in bankruptcy court, costing the county $5 million to litigate its demands.

To put an end to that situation, Latimer arrived at a new agreement with Standard in 2022. That agreement included a $150 million capital improvement plan for the park by the county, which also required Standard Amusements to invest $30 million of its own funds into Playland.

The deal was too sweet for the city of Rye, which revoked Playland’s status as tax exempt, resulting in $3.4 million bill for the park in 2023. Further litigation then ensued, and the exemption was restored, with the exception of continued taxation of the park’s Tiki Bar restaurant. That situation is still on appeal.

On Friday, February 7th, Westchester County initiated arbitration against Standard Amusements, citing its “wrongful attempted termination of the Playland Management Agreement (PMA).”

And O’Connor formally requested Standard begin to transition out of the park, so that the county itself could open Playland for the 2025 summer operating season. The county has committed to creating a smooth transition for the management of Playland back to county hands – and hopefully end Astorino’s assertion about the benefits of privatization for the park once and for all.

Jenkins has stated that the “bottom line” for Standard Amusements desire to get out of Playland was that the park wasn’t making money for the company. “They couldn’t make Playland work…and are blaming the county for their failure.”

For its part, Standard Amusements claims “For over a decade, we have tirelessly worked to revitalize Playland and restore it as a special place... We are proud of the progress we made towards achieving our vision, including improving rides and attractions, engaging local artists to enhance the park with their creativity, establishing new traditions through robust community programming, launching a seasonal ferry service, and much more…”

Whoever wins this battle, the county is determined that the 280-acre waterfront park open this year. Playland is home to the iconic Dragon Coaster, as well as classics like the Ye Old Mill family dark boat ride, Zombie Castle, Derby Racer, Crazy Mouse, and the flume ride Saw Mill River. The wooden track of the Dragon Coaster has been hurtling happy guests on its thrills since 1928. The park offers 40 rides in all, including a collection of kiddie rides; it is also home to a game arcade, beach, and pool.