Sustainable Playland Inc. (SPI) announced April 30 that it would resume its participation in the review process by the Board of Legislators.
By Robin Jovanovich
Sustainable Playland Inc. (SPI) announced April 30 that it would resume its participation in the review process by the Board of Legislators. SPI had suspended participation in the review process after being sued by BOL member Ken Jenkins, and after the City of Rye asserted land-use control of Playland. SPI appealed to County Executive Rob Astorino to intervene.
Evidently, he has. An April 30 letter from SPI President and Rye resident Kim Morque to Astorino confirms that the County Executive will “take a more active role… in completing operator agreements (including parking) and providing the relevant information to the Board’s reviewing committees.”
Most significantly, according to the letter, “The County will represent us in any current and future lawsuits.”
Morque continued, “In the coming days we will work with you (Astorino) to finalize operating agreements and establish a schedule for the completion of the review with the BOL.”
BOL Chairman Michael Kaplowitz had set a deadline of May 1 for SPI to get back into the process. Now that it has met the deadline, the question of the City of Rye’s role still remains. Asked on April 30 what he knew about developments regarding SPI, Mayor Joe Sack told the paper: “We’re at loggerheads with the County Executive. Astorino took the position we didn’t have land-use approval authority, which it’s clear to us we do.” He added, “The City didn’t kill the project, as many blogs and news sites have claimed, we just didn’t want to approve it without our input.”
Although the City has claimed land use control over Playland, neither the County Executive nor the BOL agrees. Astorino has stated plainly that Rye has no control over County land. Chairman Kaplowitz has asserted that the BOL can address the concerns of Rye without ceding land-use control to Rye.
The letter from SPI, which was forwarded to the paper for publication, is on ryerecord.com.
