While the Rye Town Park Commission is overcoming the exit of Seaside Johnnies restaurant and although the park managed to accumulate a surplus in revenue two years in a row, its crumbling infrastructure is now emerging as a relevant matter.
According to Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman, a Democrat and president of the park commission, there is currently no course of action laid out to address the desperate need for capital improvements at the park, which has been around since the early 1900s. “There are some things we know we have to do, but we really have to wait and see,” he said.
Zuckerman said, although there is currently no estimate for the cost of the overall scope of necessary repairs, and while conversations about which repairs will be prioritized haven’t even begun, there are a number of “obvious” capital improvements that need to be addressed.
He told the Review that the commission will need to find a way to restore the park’s bathhouse and bathrooms, which need roof construction, as well as the outdoor shower facilities. Zuckerman said construction for the park’s century-old administrative building could cost as much as $10 million. “For a long time, we’ve been talking about making the mid-beach ramp handicap accessible, too,” he said.
The park, which overlooks Oakland Beach and the Long Island Sound—it’s located at 95 Dearborn Ave., off of Forest Avenue in the city of Rye—includes several pavilions, a duck pond, a restaurant and snack and concession stands, and a number of service facilities.
Over the last two years, the park has accumulated a revenue surplus of nearly $430,000, which could potentially be used to fund some capital improvements. However, it’s likely the park will forego any surplus for 2017 without any viable candidate to replace Seaside Johnnies, which discontinued its restaurant operation at the park for the upcoming season. As a result, the commission will be forced to use its surplus to fund any potential operating deficit as a result of that vacancy.
Zuckerman said while there is currently no plan to fund the needed capital improvements, the commission was recently selected for a nationally competitive program from New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Capstone program, which will serve as consultants to the park.
“We hope with Capstone, they gather enough information to help us determine what we want the park to be and what facilities need repairs first; then we will accomplish those goals,” Zuckerman said. “After that, we’ll come up with a complete plan.”
The decision to get started with the program comes in wake of the commission mulling the idea of handing over park management to a private company; however, that idea fizzled last spring after communitywide disapproval.
He added the commission also needs to address the damaged seawall in the Water’s Edge section of the city, which extends into the park.
According to Rye City Manager Marcus Serrano, the city is currently in negotiations with FEMA to reconstruct its portion of the wall, which could result in the city paying $40,000 for just repairs.
However, the commission currently has no solution to cover the cost of its portion of the seawall, which is estimated to cost anywhere from $600,000 to $700,000 for a complete replacement.
According to Rye City Mayor Joe Sack, a Republican and member of the park commission, an annual comprehensive approach is the solution to the looming capital improvements that need to be made. He added that the city of Rye produces a capital improvement plan each year that aims to analyze any potential capital project in the city. “The process, the staff, and the capital funding that we have in the city of Rye does not exist anywhere near the same degree with Rye Town Park,” he said.
Village of Rye Brook Mayor Paul Rosenberg, a Democrat and member of the park commission, could not be reached for comment, as of press time.
