WHITE PLAINS, NY — A group of Democratic legislators from the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL), led by Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers), spent a few hours yesterday afternoon walking around Playland, the 280-acre County park and National Historic Landmark, thanking patrons and employees for a successful year.
The most recent financial figures on Playland are proving to be favorable, with revenues and expenses at budgeted levels, and attendance keeping pace with last year’s numbers. According to the 2012 Adopted County Budget, even with over $3.1 million in debt service included as an expenditure, Playland amounts to only $3 million of the $548 million county tax levy—a whopping $3 per person.
Even though it was a cloudy day, Playland was busy, thanks to the Labor Day holiday. BOL Chairman Jenkins was joined by Legislators Bill Ryan (D-White Plains), Maryjane Shimsky (D-Hastings on-Hudson), Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) and Virginia Perez (D-Yonkers), and the group began greeting visitors entering the park near the Fountain Gate before heading to Kiddyland and then around the rest of the park to say their hellos and thank yous.
Playland is open to the public only one more day this season—Sunday, September 9—although there are two more outings being held at the park, as well as a Hallowe’en event being produced by an outside contractor.
Three Democratic BOL members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators called for an independent audit of Playland on August 10 because of troubling inconsistencies and omissions in the data regarding the park’s attendance and revenue figures being reported by the Astorino Administration. The legislators also vowed not to give full control of the beloved, family-friendly destination to a private operator without a rigorous analysis and approval process.
Photo Credit: Westchester County Board of Legislators / Conrad Barclay / Tom Staudter