Let’s be clear: Westchester taxpayers are being insulted and lied to by the Jenkins administration. The operating agreement for Playland that recently collapsed is not the deal struck by the Astorino administration. That original 2015 agreement was supported by then-Legislator Ken Jenkins as part of a unanimous vote by the Board of Legislators. Not only did he vote yes, but he publicly celebrated the agreement, hailing it as, “…the largest investment in the park since [Playland] was built.” Jenkins was correct to hail the agreement, as this would have saved Playland for future generations by negating a $4 million annual taxpayer subsidy.
The subsequent problems stem directly from the actions taken by Mr. Jenkins after he joined the County Executive’s office. The Jenkins/Latimer Administration just could not live with the potential success of a visionary, efficient, landmark public-private partnership forged by their predecessor. So, beginning in 2018 they fought and litigated with Standard Amusements at exorbitant taxpayer expense.
After spending millions of taxpayer dollars on outside counsel and getting hammered by a Federal Bankruptcy Judge, the Jenkins/Latimer team negotiated their new agreement. One should also have a look at the Jenkins/Latimer press releases following that renegotiation. They proudly announced that the new Agreement they negotiated with Standard Amusements was going to save Playland. Based on the current situation, they were clearly mistaken.
The debacle at hand is the implosion of that revised plan negotiated by the Jenkins/Latimer
administration. The facts remain:
1. Ken Jenkins was part of a unanimous vote in 2015 supporting the original Astorino administration agreement with Standard Amusements.
2. As Deputy County Executive, Ken Jenkins oversaw the renegotiation of that agreement after costly legal battles initiated by his administration.
3. As we learned sadly earlier this year, under Jenkins’ leadership as both Deputy County Executive and now County Executive, the administration has failed to live up to the milestones required by the agreement his administration created, resulting in the current collapse.
Attributing this failure to the original agreement ignores the significant changes, conflicts, and renegotiations initiated in the continuing Jenkins/Latimer era. The responsibility for the failure of
the current agreement rests squarely with the administration that revised it and subsequently
failed to manage it effectively.
Thanks to Ken Jenkins, it’s going to be a long, quiet, expensive summer in Westchester.
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/rye-city/2025/05/01/westchester-ny-to-fix-maintain-playland-amusement-park-rides-zamperla-hired-with-no-bid/83395996007/