County Executive Jenkins: Playland to Open Memorial Day Weekend with Free Admission

Summer Jobs Available

By Dan Murphy

County Executive Ken Jenkins held a press conference on May 7 to tell the residents of Westchester that Playland will open for Memorial Day weekend and will have Free admission.

Jenkins explained in great detail the history surrounding the recent operations of the only county owned amusement park in the US, and how county government is now scrambling to get ride safety approved by the State Department of Labor and employees and lifeguards hired.

 “Summer in Westchester means a summer spent at Playland – and this summer will be no different.”

Jenkins said the extent of ride availability is still being determined, as the County continues efforts to address the damage left behind by Standard Amusements following their breach of contract and abandonment of the park in February 2025.

Because ride availability may be limited over Memorial Day weekend, Jenkins and Westchester County Government have made admission free and Parking reduced to $10. Plus the beach at Rye Playland will also be open.

Westchester County Government, and the taxpayers of Westchester, have paid $141 Million in capital improvements at Playland over the past several years. Part of that $141 Million was to meet contractual obligations with Standard Amusements, who was selected by then County Executive Rob Astorino and the County Board of Legislators to operate Playland under a 30-year agreement.

Standard Amusements operated Playland for less than 5 years, and in January of this year (2025), informed the county that it was walking away from its agreement.

Jenkins said: “The condition Standard Amusements left Playland in is deeply disappointing, and reflects the consequences of a poorly structured agreement made during a prior administration. The deal, negotiated under then-County Executive Rob Astorino, prioritized privatization over prudent fiscal management and left the County responsible for significant financial liabilities — including the return of 100% of Standard Amusements’ investment. As a member of the Board of Legislators in 2016, I voted against this agreement because I believed it did not serve the best interests of Westchester County’s taxpayers or families.”

The County is working closely with the New York State Department of Labor, which must inspect and certify the rides before they can open for public use. Jenkins highlighted that the opening of the rides will ultimately be the State’s decision.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding some rides, Playland will be alive with activity Memorial Day Weekend, featuring food concessions, games and entertainment. Playland Beach will also open as scheduled, while the Playland Pool is set to open in June in line with all County pool openings.

Westchester County Director of Operations Joan McDonald explained that the county has been working to determine what is needed to open Playland shortly after being informed by Standard that they were out.

The Tiki Bar will be open again this year at Playland after a new agreement was reached. And the large investment made in the pool and beach at Playland will mean swimming and recreational opportunities for residents.

Westchester County has hired Zamperla to conduct a review and repair of all of the rides at Playland. Zamperla operates the amusement park at Coney Island and also owns several rides at Playland.

Jenkins said: “As we work through this 2025 season, Playland will be totally free Memorial Day weekend for people to enjoy. We all love Playland — it’s a part of all of us — and we need it to be a part of our summer.”

Visit our website to learn more about upcoming job fairs for Playland Park. Job fairs will be held Saturdays May 10 and 17, and June 7. Positions include: Park Management (Operations), Ride Operators, Ride Attendants, Lifeguards, Cashiers, Custodial and Painters.

The May 10 and June 7 job fairs will take place at the Westchester County Center in the Exhibition Hall, and the May 17 job fair will take place at Playland Park. All job fairs will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees will need to bring a valid photo I.D. Applicants ages 16 and 17 who plan to complete their application at the fair must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Eligible applicants that may wish to enroll in Westchester County Payroll Direct Deposit as their form of payment, must bring with them, either a blank voided check or a bank issued Direct Deposit Set Up Form, which includes their routing number and account number printed on the document.

Salaries start at $16.60 per hour. Additional job fairs may be added. The Westchester County Center is located at 198 Central Avenue in White Plains. Parking will be free for those attending. Playland Park is located at 1 Playland Parkway in Rye.

This is good news for the hundreds of young Westchester residents who get jobs at Playland every summer.

Still unclear is the $36 Million arbitration settlement that the county and its taxpayers will have to pay Standard Amusements to settle legal disputes between the two. We will address that issue in a future story. The good news is that Playland will be open for Memorial Day Weekend.

Jenkins upcoming opponent for County Executive in November, Christine Sculti, disagreed with Jenkins summary of the last 10 years of Playland under Astorino.

“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,” said Sculti, in a press release from her campaign.

Jenkins acknowledged that Playland is “the people of Westchester’s park,” and that, like the more than 50 other Westchester parks, “Playland does not make money.”

At least for Memorial Day weekend, Westchester residents can go to Playland, walk around, and see for themselves the improvements and investment that have been made and that they have paid for.

As for a future public-private partnership at Playland, Jenkins said No. And we agree. Overall, the Standard Amusement experiment, that this paper originally supported under Astorino, did not work for the people of Westchester.