WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR PLAYLAND-GO-ROUND. By John F. Bailey. August 31, 2016:

Playland attendance for the 2015 summer season is down 8% according to Westchester County figures going into last weekend.

A total of 400,057 admissions have attended through August 26 compared to 436,010 in 2015 at the same date. The decline has resulted in a $546,570 dollars less revenue than last year at this time: $7,761,159 through last Friday compared to $8,307,729 the same time in 2015.

Despite this Parking Revenues were up by 1/3: $1,064,029  to $798,246. This could be due to the higher $10 parking fee, which WPCNR was not in effect at the beginning of the season.

The hottest summer ever in Westchester County accounted for sharply increased pool and beach admission revenue—up 22% — $401,504 to $329,133, even though attendance at the pool and beach was down 9,580 compared to 2015. This summer through last Thursday, the pool and beach attracted 61,549 compared to 71,129, a 13% drop.

A Westchester Crowd

Who goes to Playland? County Executive Robert Astorino when he first came to office expressed the feeling that Playland had to appeal more to Westchester residents.

This year attendance figures show 197,834 of the 400,057 admissions up to last Friday were residents of Westchester County (50%)

Non-resident admissions including Riders only, Spectators, and Non-Resident Junior  Admissions, and Non Resident Spectator Senior Passes numbers accounted for 120,017 or 30% of admissions.

Group admissions (65,105) made up 16% of the total admissions and Promotion admissions 4.2% (16,867).

Trends

Senior admissions both resident and non-resident made up  14,000 or 4% of the total admissions. It would seem this is an underserved market. Either the reduced Playland admissions prices for seniors are not low enough, or the Parking is too high for the seniors’ wallets.

Group admissions seem to be not exploited enough as a growth market, but perhaps are given too much a revenue break. One also does not know if the park is given over to groups exclusively. It’s an item that Standard Amusements the new manager of Playland has to look at.

The graduated admissions policy does not seem to hurt the interest in riding the rides.  Half the attendance 198,888 rode the rides, 74,435 were spectators (non-riders). Riding Juniors (Kids) numbered 30,640, but oddly maybe 16,909 non resident juniors rode compared to 13,731.

There were 5,039 Season Pass Sales sold of varying price levels,  and 14,122 visits from those holders of season passes, an average use of  3 visits per season pass.

Concessions

The county paid $734,578.42 cents in revenues to concessions based on the weekly usage against revenue from licensing fees paid by concession licensees (food, games, arcades, lake boating rentals) . The County receives $638,851.30 in concession license fees, the difference between license fees and 60% revenues paid to the concession licensees was $95,727.03.

10 Days to go

The biggest days of the summer so far, no surprise: Memorial Day weekend and July 4^th weekend.

Memorial Day saw 15,295 admissions.

The July 4^th weekend drew 7,969 on Saturday, 11,337 on Sunday and 14,646 on Independence Day

Special Days the last 10 days

Tonight, Wednesday and on Thursday there are $15 Admission from 5 PM to close.

September 2^nd, Friday is Fireworks night.

On Labor Day, there is $15 Rides Admission all day

On September 10 and 11, the last weekend of the Playland Season Grandparents’s Weekend will let Grandparents ride the rides for free, with $15 admissions all day for everyone else.

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 If you have an air conditioner….says how it feels in White Plains NY USA

Oooh this hot summer has got me down,
You can fry an egg on the street
Heatwaves awigglin’ on the sidewalk,
Cops are droppin like flies on the beat,
I need a new lover to take me in,
Protect me from this humid air,
Be you from Brooklyn, Staten Island or Queens,
I don’t care

It don’t matter kinda lovin’ you’re into,
Or how big your apartment might be,
All you need’s an air conditioner,
And you’re the man for me

You can pour me a glass of Perrier,
You can fan my fevered brow,
You can rub me down with alcohol,
That ain’t enough!
No how

You can lay me in a tub of ice,
you can stand me in a cold shower, too,
But if you don’t have an air conditioner,
I will not go home with you

It don’t matter kinda lovin’ you’re into,
Or how big your ego might be,
All you need’s an air conditioner,
And you are the man,
You are the man,
You are the man,
You are my man,
You are the man for me

Bye, bye,
Bye, bye,
Buh buh buh badadadada,
Aooh aooh

What’s that you say?
You live by the Hudson river?
And a breeze blows through your door?
Well, honey, if you don’t have
a Freidrichs in your window,
I don’t want to hear anymore

You say you live in a penthouse,
You got a terrace with a view of the night,
Well, that’s swell,
But I really must tell you,
An air conditioner is a much prettier sight

It don’t matter kinda lovin’ you’re into,
Or how big your apartment might be,
All you need’s an air conditioner,
And you’re the man oh,
You’re the man,
I don’t care what kinda lovin’ you’re into,
Or how big your … might be,
All you need’s an air conditioner,
And you’re the man oh,
You’re the man oh,
You’re the man for me

Sutton Foster the Broadway Diva, sings the above song in her club act and it is most appropriate!

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On Thursday, the Board of Legislators (BOL) Litigation Committee met with County Attorney Robert Meehan to discuss Westchester County’s response to the Article 78 court action brought against Westchester County by Rye City Mayor Joe Sack.

Among other things, the City of Rye’s complaint claims that the County should not be the lead agency in certifying compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and that Mayor Sack and the city of Rye weren’t aware that Westchester County was conducting the necessary SEQRA analysis for the redevelopment of Playland.

The majority of the Litigation Committee meeting was conducted in executive session because the discussion took place between Legislators and the County Attorney about litigation strategy, which means it is protected as communication between an attorney and his clients and exempt from the state’s Open Meetings Law.

Matt Richter, spoksperson for the Board of Legislators said the county would respond to the City of Rye lawsuit within two weeks with either a motion for the court to dismiss the lawsuit  and a point-by-point rebuttal to the Rye complaints.

Asked by WPCNR if Standard Amusements, the organization headed by Nick Price, which is on the point of taking over Playland operation next year, has given any indication they would withdraw as a result of the Rye suit and prospects of continuing litigation, Richter said “No, they recognize this is just another hurdle that is part of the process.”  Right now, he said the county was just in the “engineering stage,” and no construction or changes were started.

Asked how Playland attendance for the summer 2016 was doing, Richter said attendance was “down,” and he would get the figures.

Playland Parking–$10– Plus admission to the park.

WPCNR noted today that the parking admission charge has gone up to $10 (during the week), and Richter said he would look into when that  price went into effect.

Following the meeting, Legislators expressed confidence that the County fully complied with SEQRA and sharply disagreed with Mayor Sack’s claims.

Legislator Lyndon Williams (D) Mount Vernon is a practicing attorney and chair of the BOL’s Litigation Committee.

“The City of Rye’s contention that Westchester County should not be the lead agency for the SEQRA review associated with the work at Playland is not supported by arguments made in the City’s complaint nor by any precedent.”  Williams said, “Playland is a County Park on County-owned property which makes Westchester County the party responsible for the environmental review.  If the County were to cede that responsibility to the City of Rye it would establish an improper and likely deleterious precedent for all the other county park properties throughout Westchester. This precedent could greatly increase the timeline for all county renovations and repairs.”

Legislator Gordon Burrows (R) Yonkers, Bronxville is also a practicing attorney and a member of the Litigation Committee.

“The City of Rye’s claim that they were unaware of the County Planning Department’s ongoing SEQRA review and that the review did not take ‘a hard look at’ environmental impacts is, frankly, preposterous.”  Burrows said.  “Not only were the County’s activities well documented in local media, the Mayor’s office accommodated public hearings on the matter in the Rye City Council’s own chambers.  The notion that Mayor Sack could have remained ignorant to the County’s protracted review process strains credulity.  I am confident that the County will prevail in court.”

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White Plains Performing Arts Center announces its new productions for the 2016 – 2017 Fall/Winter season:

• Blood Type: Ragu starring Frank Ingrasciotta – September 17
• 
• Louis and Ella! A New Jazzical – September 24
• 
• Heathers The Musical – October 14-23
• Bat Boy: The Musical – November 11-13
• Mooseltoe: A New Moosical – November 25
• 
• Sister Act – A Divine Musical Comedy  – December 16 – January 8
• The Maccabeats – January 21
• Ballet for Young Audiences – Cinderella – January 28
• Chase Padgett – 6 Guitars – February 4
• Linda Eder – February 11
• Jeff Boyer’s Bubble Trouble – February 25
• 
• Frank & Liza Together Again- May 20
• All performances are at the White Plains theatre, located on the third level of City Center off Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street in downtown White Plains.

The 2016 Fall Season performance schedule  Opens Saturday, September 17 with

Blood Type: Ragu

Saturday, September 17 • 8:00 PM

A hilarious and poignant exploration of the Sicilian immigrant experience based on the life of writer and performer Frank Ingrasciotta.

“It’s not drama… it’s just family! And we all have one.”

“FRANK IS AN INGRATIATING PERFORMER WITH SUFFICIENT WIT TO MAKE THE SHOW TRULY UNIVERSAL” The New York Post

Blood Type: Ragu, the critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway hit, stars award-winning writer and performer Frank Ingrasciotta, giving a tour-de-force portrayal of over 20 characters who live, love and laugh, in this wonderfully funny and genuinely moving solo play exploring an immigrant child’s delicate dance between culture and identity.

This relatable show delighted audiences Off-Broadway at the Actors’ Playhouse in NYC, then touring Capital Repertory Theatre (Albany, NY), 14^th Street Playhouse (Atlanta, GA), Dante Hall Theatre (Atlantic City, NJ), George St. Playhouse (New Brunswick, NJ), Seven Angels Theatre (Waterbury, CT), 2015 Winnipeg Theatre Festival, Shea’s Performing Arts Center produced by Broadway League Vice Chair Albert Nocciolino (Buffalo, NY), and numerous Performing Arts Centers throughout the USA.

It also played to sold-out houses at the Belmont Theatre (NYC), where it became the longest running show in the theatre’s ten-year history.  Blood Type: RAGU is the recipient of the Westchester Arts Council Arts Award for Outstanding Artist, and two time winner at the United Solo Festival Award for Best Comic Actor and Best Comedic Script (nominated alongside Bette Midler, Hugh Jackman & John Leguizamo).

For tickets and showtimes for all shows, go to www.wppac.com or call 914-328-1600

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 WPCNR HEALTH BRIEF. From the Westchester County Department of Health. AUGUST 19, 2016:

This season’s first batch of mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus has been confirmed by the Westchester County Department of Health. The area surrounding the positive mosquito batch in Yonkers has been inspected by the health department and nearby catch basins with standing water have been treated to protect against further mosquito breeding in the area.

“The presence of West Nile Virus has been a reality in the Hudson Valley for quite some time now, so this positive test is not a surprise,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “Nevertheless, it’s a reminder for residents to protect themselves and their families against West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses. For the county’s part, we have implemented a proactive and comprehensive plan to combat mosquito-borne illness for more than a decade, including advice and resources for our residents.”

In 2016, the Westchester County Department of Health has submitted 243 pools of mosquitoes to the New York State Department of Health for testing with only one positive result.

The state health department has identified 195 positive mosquito pools throughout New York so far this year. Symptoms of West Nile encephalitis (a severe infection) usually occur from three to 14 days following the bite and include high fever, headache, confusion, muscle aches and weakness, seizures, or paralysis. Most people who are infected with West Nile Virus will not show any symptoms. Persons over 50 years of age are at the highest risk for a severe disease.

West Nile Virus is not to be confused with Zika. To date, no mosquitoes in New York State have tested positive for Zika and there have been no locally-acquired cases.

“We hope confirmation of mosquitoes with West Nile Virus reminds residents to take precautions,” said Westchester County Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD. “The best ways to avoid West Nile, and other mosquito-borne illnesses, are to remove standing water from your property.”

According to Dr. Amler, favorite mosquito breeding sites include buckets, plant pot saucers, clogged gutters, pet bowls, old tires, as well as children’s pools and toys. Residents should also minimize spending time outdoors at dawn and dusk, and apply insect repellents according to the label directions when enjoying activities outside.

As in prior years, the county health department prepared for the 2016 mosquito season by evaluating and treating with larvicide, as needed, all catch basins on county and municipal roads throughout Westchester. In addition to larviciding, the county also gave away free fathead minnows and mosquito dunks to residents this spring. The minnows help to curtail the mosquito population in ponds and water features by feeding on mosquito larvae and pupae before they develop into adult mosquitoes. The mosquito dunks serve the same purpose in birdbaths, rain barrels and unused pools. Free mosquito dunks are still available, and residents can make arrangements to pick them up by calling (914) 813-5000.

In 2015, 17 positive mosquito batches were found in Westchester County with the first positive batch collected around this time. The county has been safely applying larvicide since 2001 to suppress the mosquito population.

Residents who notice large areas of standing water on public property that could serve as potential mosquito breeding grounds should report it to the Westchester County Department of Health by calling (914) 813-5000 or emailing hweb@westchestergov.com. For more information about preventing West Nile Virus, visit health.westchestergov.com/west-nile-virus.