October 27, 2017

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Harrison REVIEW THE

October 27, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 43 | www.harrisonreview.com

Rye officially files for Playland appeal By JAMES PERO Staff Writer

Over the weekend, dogs of all ages—including Trump dog—came out to the Yonkers Downton Waterfront in their Halloween costumes to participate in the ninth annual Pet Parade. For more, see page 9. Photo courtesy Rachel Cauvin Photography

Quintette 7 to perform Veterans Day concert Asbury-Crestwood United Methodist Church is honored to present Quintette 7 of West Point for the third annual Veterans Day concert of its professional concert series, Music at Asbury. Quintette 7 is a one-of-a-kind sextet of three rhythm players (piano, bass, drums) and three horns (trumpet, clarinet, saxophone) drawn from the personnel of the West Point Concert Band and the band’s Field Music Group, The Hellcats. This unique ensemble will play popular favorites as well as classics with a mix of jazz and patrio-

tism that will keep your foot tapping. In honor of Veterans Day, the concert will conclude with “The Armed Forces Medley” and Quintette 7’s own arrangement of “On Brave Ol’ Army Team!” Comprised of graduates from America’s finest music schools, the professional musicians of the West Point Band provide worldclass music and support to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets and to serve as ambassadors of the U.S. Military Academy and the Army for local, national, and international commu-

nities. Quintette 7 performs for official military functions, social occasions, formal concerts, public service and educational youth clinics and concerts. Music at Asbury was launched in November of 2014. As a program of Asbury-Crestwood United Methodist Church, Music at Asbury is designed to serve as a social service to the community, offering free performances by some of New York City and the Hudson Valley’s finest musical artists. Additional concerts in the season are scheduled for Feb. 25 and April 29.

Concerts are held in the sanctuary at Asbury United Methodist Church on 167 Scarsdale Road in Tuckahoe. Ample parking is available. Admission is free of charge, but reservations are strongly recommended; please visit MusicAtAsbury.com or call 779-3722 to reserve a general admission seat. Music at Asbury is the recipient of a 2017 Arts Alive Grant from ArtsWestchester. For more information, contact Mary Thombs, chair at Music at Asbury, at Maryet1@verizon.net, or call 917-533-5747. (Submitted)

The city of Rye has locked into yet another legal dispute with Westchester County, this time seeking to overturn a state decision on Rye Playland rendered earlier this year. An appeal, filed on Friday, Oct. 20, will challenge a decision made by a state judge in March that ruled the city of Rye had no legal standing to overturn the county’s declaration of lead agency on environmental reviews for upcoming renovations to the county-owned, historic amusement park, which sits within Rye’s municipal borders. According to Councilwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein, a Democrat, the City Council hopes that a successful appeal— which comes exactly six months after a notice of appeal was filed with the county in April— will be important for the city’s future. “Whether or not we should be here in the first place is irrelevant,” said Tagger-Epstein. “But because of the judge’s ruling, we have to appeal because of the implications for the future.” Among the chief concerns of proponents of the appeal, including Tagger-Epstein, are worries that without a successful challenge, the city’s loss of legal standing during previous litigation could affect the future of Rye’s right to sue regarding future developments at the park, including millions of dollars in slated improvements and renovations. Rye City Attorney Kristen

Wilson, who spoke to the Review in August, said that, in particular, the city’s loss of legal standing could render future lawsuits all but impossible. The city will also try to reassert its position that it—not the county—should be the ultimate deciders on whether or not renovations at the park comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQR. Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian, a Republican, has opposed the appeal of the judge’s decision from its inception, stating publicly that she believes the continuation of a lawsuit could worsen already strained relations between the city and county administrations. As per a management agreement struck between the county and new park operators, Standard Amusements, in May 2016, the nearly 100-year-old amusement park is slated to undergo $60 million in capital improvements—a cost that will be divided between the two parties. Under the terms of the deal, Standard Amusements will manage the park for 30 years and also pay the county a fee that will rise annually by 2 percent. The agreement punctuated years of failed negotiations between Republican Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino’s administration and other potential park managers—most notably a previous deal between the administration and Sustainable Playland Inc. that dissolved in the wake of public outcry over the proposal of an 85,000-squarefoot sports bubble. PLAYLAND continued on page 8


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