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JAN 23– FLASH! STANDARD AMUSEMENTS WANTS TO END ITS MANAGEMENT OF PLAYLAND; COUNTY REJECTS TERMINATION NOTICE
Standard Amusements, the company that has been operating the Playland Amusement Park in Rye under a contract with the park’s owner Westchester County, has sent the county a notice that it is terminating its 30-year contract to manage the park.
Standard just finished its third summer season in charge of Playland. The notice was in the form of a letter to the county dated Jan. 21.
Standard alleged that the county breached their contract. The county, in a Jan. 22 letter to Standard signed by County Attorney John Nonna, rejected Standard’s termination and took the position that the county has not breached the contract as Standard claimed.
A separate letter dated Jan. 21 to Standard from County Parks Commissioner Kathleen O’Connor also took the position that the county did not breach the contract with Standard. However, O’Connor took the position that it is Standard that has breached the Playland Management Agreement
“First, throughout the 2024 season, the Manager has consistently had a significant number of rides closed on any given day of operation,” O’Connor said. “For example, during the ride safety audit in June, it was observed on back-to-back weekends that anywhere from 8 to 19 rides (out of approximately 40) were not operated during times Playland was open to the public. Whether these closures were due to maintenance issues or understaffing, it violates the Manager’s obligations to ‘operate’ and ‘maintain’ the Park in accordance with industry standards.”
O’Connor also referred to Standard’s maintenance and inspection practices, saying in part, “the County’s ride safety audit revealed that the Manager had insufficient maintenance staff to perform standard ride maintenance and inspections, even excluding maintenance of the rides that were closed. This violates the Manager’s obligation ‘maintain and repair Playland Park in accordance with standard industry practices.’”
O’Connor also alleged that Standard as of Jan. 21 had not paid the management fee it owes the county from 2023. She said that Standard must make the payment immediately and also cure within 30 days the deficiencies the county says breach the contract.
Standard began managing Playland after reaching a settlement with the administration of former County Executive George Latimer. Standard and the county had been at odds in court over the management agreement that Standard received when former County Executive Rob Astorino was in office. To settle the dispute with the county, a new management contract was negotiated. It was approved by the county’s Board of Legislators in 2021.
O’Connor said that in conversations with Nicholas Singer, who heads Standard Amusements, and in the company’s Jan. 21 letter to the county, it was made plain that Standard did not intend to be managing the amusement park in 2025.
JAN 22- GREENBURGH-GRAHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS ARRAIGNED ON PUBLIC CORRUPTION CHARGES BY WESTCHESTER DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND STATE COMPTROLLER. $50,000 ALLEDGED STOLEN FOR PERSON USES
DISGRACED TOP OFFICIALS AT SCHOOL FOR AT-RISK STUDENTS ARRAIGNED ON PUBLIC CORRUPTION CHARGES
Over $50,000 of school money is alleged to have been spent on personal items such as jewelry and luxury handbags.
Westchester District Attorney Susan Cacace
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that two former officials at the Greenburgh-Graham Union Free School District, which serves at-risk students from kindergarten to 12th grade, were arraigned today on an indictment charging them with multiple public corruption offenses.
Oliver Levy, the district’s former superintendent, and Surendra Kumar, a former security system specialist, were arraigned Wednesday morning before Westchester County Court Judge Anne Bianchi on the charges of Second-Degree and Third-Degree Grand Larceny as Crimes of Public Corruption, Second-Degree and Third-Degree Grand Larceny, and Corrupting the Government in the Second and Third Degrees.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
D.A. Cacace said: “Any theft of public funds represents a fundamental breach of public trust. That breach is amplified when the allegations concern an institution serving our most vulnerable. The funds in this case that were allegedly diverted to the defendants could have been used for student achievement. My office will work diligently to ensure that the students and parents at Greenburgh-Graham are made whole.”
Comptroller DiNapoli said: “School administrators allegedly stealing from students they are supposed to serve is reprehensible. My thanks to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office for partnering with my office and continuing to pursue justice in this case and holding these individuals accountable.”
As alleged in the felony complaint, Mr. Levy, who began as a teaching assistant in 2008 and was promoted to superintendent in 2018, aided, abetted, and acted in concert with Mr. Kumar, then a security system specialist, to purchase 168 gift cards between July 2018 and June 2022.
Instead of spending the full sum of these funds on school-related expenses, the defendants are accused of diverting over $50,000 from the gift cards to personal expenses, such as jewelry, luxury handbags, private school fees for relatives, and veterinary services.
Mr. Levy, 55, of Stony Point, and Mr. Kumar, 48, of Yonkers, were arrested in May 2024 by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. They have been released on their own recognizance. None of the charges are bail-eligible.
The top charge, Second-Degree Grand Larceny as a Crime of Public Corruption, carries a maximum potential sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the Economic Crimes and Public Integrity Units of the Westchester District Attorney’s Criminal Investigators Squad.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sheila Horgan.
JAN 22– NEW WESTCHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY SUSAN CACASE SUPPORTS GOV. HOCHUL PROPOSED DISCOVERY REFORMS
STATEMENT ON DISCOVERY REFORM AND PUBLIC SAFETY LEGISLATION
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace released the following statement on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed reforms to New York’s discovery laws and other proposals designed to strengthen public safety:
“I welcome Gov. Hochul’s latest proposals to address the shortcomings in our discovery laws, and I look forward to working with our legislative partners to codify these needed changes. New York’s criminal discovery rubric must advance the interests of justice without penalizing good-faith efforts by prosecutors to promote compliance.
“The current discovery process places unnecessary burdens on prosecutors that incentivize delays. These delays routinely lead to unwarranted case dismissals, despite the due diligence of front-line prosecutors. As the latest statistics show, judges across New York State’s court system are reporting that discovery requirements have resulted in increased case dismissals. This trend will almost certainly continue without meaningful efforts to address the unintended consequences of discovery reform.
“It is my hope that our executive and legislative partners will continue to pursue further amendments to discovery reform that promote balance and fairness between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
“In addition to these important changes, I further support and endorse the recently announced proposals to expand resources for victims of sex crimes and bolster the prosecution of sex trafficking offenders and drug-impaired drivers.”