Inside the battle for Rye Playland — and what fans should expect this summer

Maria Papa, 61, remembers the thrill of finally being tall enough to ride the 80-foot-high Dragon Coaster at Playland in Rye —shortly after her 12th birthday.

At 16, she met her husband, Michael, at a park concession stand, while working there during the summer of 1977.

Thinking back, she can still smell the hot dogs and popcorn.

“We’d go back every year around our anniversary on July 31 and take a picture near the Dragon Coaster,” Papa, a legal assistant, told The Post.

As a young mother, she couldn’t wait until the moment her daughter Jessica, now 40, was old enough to take her first ride on one of the country’s creakiest, most beloved wooden coasters. 

The Rye resident hopes to take her two grandkids to the iconic park one day — but like many lifelong fans in the New York area, she’s nervous about Playland’s future, now that Westchester County, owners of the nearly century-old amusement park, has handed the management contract over to investment firm Standard Amusements.

Opened in 1928, Playland, with its classic carousels, mild thrill rides like the Whip and a privileged location directly on the Long Island Sound, has been a summertime staple among New York families for generations.

Barely twenty minutes over the city line and reachable via Metro-North train and bus, the accessible, historically affordable day trip destination has become part of American pop culture, making appearances in films like the Michael Douglas-Glenn Close 1987 thriller “Fatal Attraction” and 1988’s “Big,” starring Tom Hanks. Mariah Carey shot the music video for her smash-hit song “Fantasy” at the park in 1995. 

But when the historic landmark reopens for its 95th year on Saturday, complete with ribbon cutting and marching band, those looking to go for a ride, or catch some rays on the park’s own beach, should expect significant changes.

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The new direction for Playland comes after more than a decade of wrangling between the county and Standard Amusements, which controversially began managing the park in the latter half of 2021, after a string of coaster-like twists and turns.

“I tell people it took eleven and a half years to basically get to the starting line,” Nick Singer, 43, a Harrison native and founder of Standard Amusements, told The Post from his office inside the park.

“Playland was the epicenter of my life. This is the amusement park I went to. I ice skated, I even came here and saw Halley’s Comet with my father in 1986,” Singer recalled. “This was the nexus of my childhood. I always loved it.”

“I was amazed as I got older, it really hadn’t changed. It started to go a bit downhill,” Singer said. “Fast forward to 2010, the county put out a request for proposals to reimagine Playland. I was like, you don’t really need to reimagine it, you just need to rejuvenate it.”

And while Standard wasn’t the county’s first choice, Singer eventually managed to win officials over in 2015.

Then came a new county executive, who cancelled a signed contract in the name of protecting taxpayers, followed by troubling reports of crumbling infrastructure, a historic, COVID-era closure, a trip to bankruptcy court for Standard and millions in legal fees dumped onto county taxpayers.

The final, public-private deal will see Standard invest $35 million toward rides and park improvements, while the county will dedicate $126 million.  

Standard will be obligated to hand over 5% of gross revenues above an initial revenue target of $12 million.

Standard’s current contract calls for preserving and maintaining beloved historical rides like the Dragon Coaster. Newer rides can be replaced pending county review.

While new management was able to make minor improvements for the 2022 season, this is the first summer where guests will notice major changes, starting with a new, art deco gateway arch reminiscent of Disney World, a synchronized music fountain at the entrance and a newly rejuvenated swimming complex.

Guests can expect new attractions this summer, like the custom-built Jack the Puppeteer, located at the front of the park, which will send riders spinning through the air when it launches later in the season.

To the right of the park’s colonnades, there’s an Italian-made, flying motorbike ride, where you choose between a spinning motorcycle or a sidecar.

Also coming this year is “Play! Verse – An Immersive Adventure” — aimed squarely at the selfie generation, who will venture through a series of rooms with optical illusions designed for photo ops.

After leakage problem, Playland’s fabled Olympic-sized pool will return with upgraded outdoor furniture.

There will be water sports such as paddle boards available at Playland Lake; and a new water slide at Playland Beach.  

Upgraded dining options include the new Tiki Beach, an upscale seafood restaurant serving surf and turf entrees like steak, coconut shrimp and sushi with an adjacent beer garden from Westchester’s own Captain Lawrence Brewing.

Ticket prices are $39.99 for adults, and $29.99 for kids, up $5 from last year — and double the 2021 prices discounted to $20 during the pandemic and $15 for kids, the last year the county ran the show.

Those merely looking to access the beach will pay $9.99, or $14.99 for beach and pool access. Kids under 2 get in free at the park, beach and pool.

After a year at the helm, some community members are still skeptical of Standard Amusements’ ability to properly steer the historic landmark into the future. 

Deirdre Curran, 57, recalls looking forward to her family’s once-a-summer trip to the amusement park.

But the Portchester resident fears for the future, and worries ticket prices will continue to rise higher than they already have.

“Playland was always the affordable place for families with a lot of kids and not a lot of money to have a great day. I’m convinced that middle and low income families are not going to be able to afford a trip to Playland,” Curran, who worked at the park in the 1980s, told The Post.

Standard Amusements has also faced headwinds from the city of Rye, which recently stuck the company with a $3.6 million property tax bill.

Officials argue that parts of the publicly owned property are now being used for private for-profit use by Standard Amusements, and must pay real estate taxes.

Local residents like Curran are pleased by the pushback.

“We’re subsidizing these big money investors on taxpayer dollars and if the park ever starts making a profit, we’re paying for all the improvements and they’re reaping all the benefits, that’s the main problem,” Curran said.

“There’s no reason we should be handing them this multimillion dollar historic gem to this group for management. But at this point, they’ve got the contract and they’ve got the keys.” 

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As for Papa, she’s cautiously optimistic that her beloved amusement park will benefit from a little TLC.

“If the alternative was that it would have to close, then I guess this is good,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful place.”