Stain on Sustainable Plan, With Resignation of Founding Members

By Robin Jovanovich

At the October 24 City Council meeting, Rye resident Dhruv Narain, founding member and president of Sustainable Playland Inc. (SPI), delivered a detailed and four-color presentation on the vision and the particulars of his group’s plan for reinventing Playland. The Council and many members of the public in the Council Room applauded the presentation and the people behind it. Just two weeks earlier, the County Executive had held a press conference at Playland at which he signed a preliminary agreement with SPI to take over operations of the amusement park.

Last week, Mr. Narain and his wife Sandhya Subbarao, who was a tireless advocate and organizer of the plan, resigned from SPI after it was revealed that the couple owed over $200,000 in property taxes from 2009-11.

Kim Morque and Peter Ruykeyser, also Rye residents and SPI members, assumed the positions of co-presidents effective October 28.

Mr. Narain, a managing director and co-head of the restructuring group at Goldman Sachs, has topped the list of Rye taxpayers owing back taxes to the City for several years. Although he has been making payments in recent years, he still owes $240,000. According to a spokesperson for the County, Ned McCormick, the County was aware of his tax problems and had been assured they were being resolved.

Geoff Thompson, a spokesperson for Sustainable Playland, said that the couple, both members of the Executive Committee, resigned so that they wouldn’t be a “distraction” that impacted the vision of a new Playland. The plan calls for recreating the park as a year-round attraction with some of the existing rides, such as the Dragon Coaster, and the addition of playing fields, a field house, and greater access to the water.

The couple’s waterfront home on Martin Butler Court is currently assessed at $9.1 million. It was purchased in 2007 for $10.8 million.

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