Westchester County is allowing a private management company to run the 87-year-old Playland amusement park.
County lawmakers voted Monday night to give the cash-strapped, county-owned park to Standard Amusements Inc.
The county will remain the owner of the park in the deal. It will also invest $32 million to restore the park's deteriorating Art Deco infrastructure.
Standard will invest nearly $28 million under the 30-year deal and pay the county increasing yearly payments beginning at $300,000.
Westchester will receive 8 percent of the park's net income after Standard recoups its initial investment. That amount increases to 10 percent after the first decade of the deal, and then to 12 percent from years 21 through 30.
The 87-year-old Playland is the largest government-run amusement park in the country. It served as the backdrop for parts of the Tom Hanks movie "Big." Last year, nearly 468,000 people visited the park, with its celebrated wooden Dragon coaster and tame Kiddyland rides.
Nicholas Singer, a partner in Standard, said last year that "Rye Playland was a special part of my childhood, and I couldn't be more excited to play a role in its future."
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Playland opens for the season on Saturday.
