The manager of an iconic amusement park featured in the movie “Big” accused Westchester County of violating their contract – and now taxpayers may have to fork over up to $57 million.
The private company running Playland Park in Rye is backing out of its 30-year deal to run the waterfront, Art Deco park, setting off a legal battle that critics fear could delay the seasonal destination’s opening this spring.
Standard Amusement told Westchester County government officials last month it was opting out of running the sprawling property that boasts the historic Dragon Coaster and other rides because the county — which owns the park — dragged its feet to finish construction projects baked into their contract.
“In November, we alerted the county that we were terminating our agreement, based on their complete failure to meet the construction obligations under the contract,” Standard wrote in a letter obtained by The Post.
“By its own admission, the county has missed the contractual deadlines, despite our consistent flexibility and patience, including a blanket one-year extension on all their project deadlines.”
Standard said it officially terminated the contract as of Jan. 21, but informed Westchester it was ready to move on last year. The company said it’s entitled to $57 million as part of opting out, including repayment of about $44 million it invested, in addition to interest fees, according to The Journal News, which first reported the breakup.
Former County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, had struck the deal with Standard after an extended bidding process but before they ever took over management of the park a new administration came into power in 2018 and things quickly grew contentious. County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat and Astorino’s successor, tried to back out of the deal in a lengthy and costly court battle.
Acting County Executive Ken Jenkins, who took over after Latimer left for Congress at the start of 2025, said the plan is for the nearly century-old park to open on time this May but his opponent in a special election this month cast doubt on that claim.
“At this point Ken Jenkins has been hiding the truth about Playland since November, so how can we believe anything he says on this or any other matter?” GOP candidate Christine Sculti told The Post in a statement.
“Playland survived the Great Depression, World War II, and COVID, but it may not make it past Ken Jenkins’ ineptitude and obfuscation.”
Jenkins, during a press conference last Monday, pushed back against Standard’s claims, arguing Westchester had poured nearly $150 million for park upgrades while Standard had screwed up the park. He said the two sides had conversations about negotiating a path to breaking the deal in November, but it went nowhere.
“The bottom line is this: Standard Amusements was losing money,” Jenkins said in a statement.
“They couldn’t make Playland work, and now they are trying to place the blame on the County for their failure,” he added, noting the massive amount of funds directed to upgrade the park.
He said he anticipates the two sides will undertake a “very complex legal battle” in the coming months.
Arbitration is expected in which the county will argue Standard defaulted on the contract and as a result, Westchester doesn’t need to fork over a portion of the millions of dollars in damages the company is seeking, according to The Journal News.
A county spokesperson previously argued that during the three years Standard was in charge there various management issues including numerous rides were closed and there wasn’t enough staffing.
Jenkins did not explain last Monday next steps for the county to get the park open and whether it would be run by Westchester government or if another private company would run the grounds.
Standard questioned if the park would be open on time this year.
“As for the future of Playland, the outlook is uncertain and deeply concerning. We want the park to have a successful season in 2025 and beyond,” Standard stated.
“…It is not apparent to us how the County, after squandering the months we have afforded them, will be ready to open Playland for the start of the season.”
Bad blood between Standard and Westchester has been apparent for years with the county spending roughly $10 million in legal fees as they tried to get out of the deal.
As the deal soured it was also revealed that the county had quietly doled out a contract to help secure a new ride in 2019 to Jenkins’ former campaign manager Joe Montalto — who previously ran the park and had worked with Central Amusement International, the company that finished as a runnerup to Standard in the bidding.
Playland first opened in 1928 and is designated a National Historic Landmark. The park is recognizable as a film location, most notably the Tom Hanks’ movie “Big.” The park’s boardwalk was the setting of a climactic scene with a fortune-telling machine and a scene where Hanks and love interest Elizabeth Perkins share a dance.
