In a special meeting and executive session late last week, the Rye City Council voted to file a notice of appeal that could mark the beginnings of another legal battle between Westchester County and the city of Rye over Playland.
The notice of appeal, which was filed on April 21, comes as a result of a denial by a state judge in March who threw out an initial Article 78 filed by the city last year.
The notice serves as the first step toward filing an official appeal, and from that point the council will have approximately five months to finalize its decision to enter back into litigation with the county.
“We would like to be more involved going forward and have advanced notice of what’s going on at the park,” said City Councilwoman Julie Killian, a Republican, who abstained from the vote and was the only councilmember who did not back the measure. “I feel confident that we’ll figure something out.”
According to Killian, Rye is seeking to give itself a greater say in an upcoming round of capital projects at the amusement park. Specifically, she said, the council will look to mitigate any impacts on traffic and ill effects on neighboring residences.
“What happens with overflow parking?” Killian asked. “It makes sense that Rye would be involved with that and that our police commissioner would be more involved with that.”
While construction of $60 million in capital projects—which materialized as a result of a management agreement struck last year between the county and Standard Amusements, an investment firm—have yet to start, Rye could also seek to file an injunction to halt the work.
The decision to file an injunction halting the work would only come after the construction on the projects is underway.
-Reporting by James Pero