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Tension Runs High At Meeting On Rye Playland Field House

RYE, N.Y. -- Frustration was high at the Rye Free Reading Room Wednesday at an information session on the field house that Sustainable Playland wants to build at Rye Playland.

Norm Gill of Pinnacle Indoor Sports discusses the field house that Sustainable Playland wants to build at Rye Playland.

Norm Gill of Pinnacle Indoor Sports discusses the field house that Sustainable Playland wants to build at Rye Playland.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Hosted by Sustainable Playland, Playland Sports and Pinnacle Indoor Sports, the event was designed to give residents information on the proposed field house. However, some residents were upset that they did not get a chance to ask questions, and felt that the input of Rye residents was not being heard. Those concerns were partially shared by those making the presentation.

"The frustration runs high, and it runs high amongst our board members," said Bruce Macleod, a board member for Sustainable Playland. He said that the process of approving Sustainable's proposal was flawed, and that there was nothing in the request for proposals on how final approval would be granted. He said that is a question that remains to be resolved by the county executive's office.

Kim Morque, president of Sustainable's board of trustees, said, "The RFP was a good document. It was not a perfect document, and it fell down completely, in my opinion, in terms of the input from the community."

Moque said that Sustainable is willing to hold public hearings and accept input from residents, but that Westchester's government needs to establish the framework for that process.

The proposed field house is 95,000 square feet and 35 feet tall at its highest point, according to Norm Gill of Pinnacle Indoor Sports. It will be placed adjacent to where the maintenace buildings currently are in the Playland Parking Lot. In his presentation, Gill said that the footprint of the field zone is two-thirds the size of what was originally proposed to the county.

Among the questions and concerns from those attending were how it would affect storm water, parking and noise. Gill said that the facility will not impact flooding, and will increase pervious surface by 3.4 acres. All activities will be scheduled, so people will not be able to come and use it as they please. This should reduce the traffic and parking congestion, Gill said. He also said that the facility will not generate noise, and that the outdoor lights will be turned off when the facility is not in use.

The field house is part of Sustainable's Playland Improvement Plan, which has not yet been approved by the county government. Construction on the field house is expected to take six months, Gill said.

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