As Summer Slips Away,
Revenues Fall at Rye Town Park;
Forecast Is Cloudy With a High Chance of Losses
When the park opened for the season this spring, there were high hopes for a banner year. Rye Town and City officials worked hard in concert with residents on safety and aesthetic improvements. And last year was an historic revenue year for the park, $985,000. Fewer cars would be allowed to park on the lawn, giving more of it back to pedestrians.
While Rye residents account for a greater percentage of the visitors this year, 30% by the last estimate, fewer people are coming. Weather accounts for some of that. June was a very rainy month and the Sunday of the July 4th weekend was a washout.

County Executive Lambastes HUD Edict; Receives Backing from Councilwoman Keith
County Executive Rob Astorino fired back at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) July 15, calling their latest demands “unprecedented bureaucratic overreaching”.
Despite the fact Westchester is a year ahead of the building schedule agreed to in 2009’s $62.5 million settlement, in which the County agreed to construct or acquire 750 affordable housing units over the following seven years, HUD recently rejected the County’s analysis of impediment (AI) for a fifth time.

Difficulties Abound Downtown for the Disabled
Technology has reached the point where Luigi Girotto, wheelchair-bound since a 2008 skiing accident, can pay for a latte at Starbucks with an app on his iPad. Such innovations have made the eight-year Rye resident’s life somewhat easier.
Getting to that caffeinated beverage is another story.
If you happen to see a 47-year-old man on a motorized wheelchair navigating between the parked and moving cars on Purchase Street, know that he does not in fact have a death wish. It’s simply the only route that Mr. Girotto can take.

A Salute to Rye’s Eagle Scouts
We didn’t want our three Eagle Scouts to go off to college before having a chance to congratulate them for their service.
James Haigney, Christopher LaMagna, and Yuta Makita, all members of Rye Troop 2 and the Rye High School Class of 2011, received the honor from The Boy Scouts of America at a large gathering at Rye Presbyterian Church.

Schubert Harassment Charges to be Dismissed
The case of The People of the State of New York against Robert Schubert was adjourned July 20 at Rye City Court. Judge Richard Runes stated that an adjournment on contemplation of dismissal would be granted October 19, unless Mr. Schubert behaves inappropriately toward City officials or staff in the meantime. “Hopefully, there will be no need to revisit this aside from the October date,” said Judge Runes.
According to court documents, Mr. Schubert visited City Manager Scott Pickup’s office on an almost daily basis in early March, without an appointment. When asked to leave March 18, he refused to do so, and reportedly claimed he would “obtain a
pistol and cause a ‘Tuscon-like’ event to bring attention to his dispute”. It was also alleged that Mr. Schubert, who was charged with second degree harassment, threatened to drive a car through the store window of City Councilwoman Catherine Parker.

Weekday Discounts At Rye Town Park
Rye Town Park is offering its weekend visitors a bonus: a weekday savings of 25% or more for residents and non-residents alike during the month of August.
The 62-acre park has 28 acres of landscaped, shaded lawns and 34 acres of sparkling beachfront on Long Island Sound, just south of Playland Park.
Starting the weekend of July 30-31, paying visitors will receive $2 discount coupons toward parking or beach access Mondays through Thursdays. Weekday daytime parking fees will be reduced from $8 to $6 per car for residents, and from $10 to $8 for non-residents.

Rye’s No-Name Nature Preserve #2
In a previous article, Mr. Lawyer explained why the woods, wetlands, and fields of the Disbrow Park area should be considered Rye’s #1 “No-Name Nature Preserve.” This article considers another candidate for the title.
On a sunny summer afternoon, traffic zips along the section of Playland Parkway between Milton Road and Midland Avenue. For most of the people in those cars, their thoughts are on getting to or coming home from the county park that’s been providing “family fun since 1928”.

Forlorn, Now Foreclosed
Long occupied, sold and resold, the little house on Locust with the multi-colored tile roof is in foreclosure. When we called City Hall to ask why the downtown property adjacent to Blind Brook wasn’t being kept up, we were given the sad news.
For many years, the property was the home and office of much-loved dentist Dr. Nitschke. A neighboring artist used it for studio space for several years. A developer had big plans for the property until the floods of 2007.
The future of the property is unknown.