WPCNR WHITE PLAINS STREET. From The Cantatore Campaign. August 14, 2003: White Plains candidate for Westchester County Legislator in the Fifth District, Frank Cantatore, Wednesday called for his opponent William Ryan, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Legislators, to put a stop to a County plan to build a Children’s Museum at Playland. According to Cantatore, the County plan directly competes with an initiative by White Plains to build a Children’s Museum in its downtown and undermines the City’s overall economic development plan.
“Children’s museums are a fun and exciting way for kids to learn,” said Cantatore. Westchester County needs a Children’s Museum and White Plains is the perfect place for one, with its central location and with all of the new offerings that will be available in the near future; not to mention ample parking and transportation to it from all corners of Westchester.” Cantatore said that he hoped that Ryan would introduce his resolution to the full Board immediately. “The resolution I am proposing is a general statement which simply says that the County government can not use County property to directly compete with local government initiatives”, Cantatore said. “The County was well aware as was Ryan of White Plains intention to attract a Children’s Museum and should not have been offering to lease property at Playland to lure Children’s Museums away from White Plains.”
The Children’s Museum belongs in White Plains”, Cantatore said. “The City of White Plains has been making tremendous progress in its efforts to revitalize the downtown and the Children’s Museum, like the movie theater and retail project, has been an important part of that effort. It is inconceivable to me that Bill Ryan, who is supposed to represent White Plains, has stood by and done nothing to protect the City’s interests.”
Cantatore called on Ryan to adopt a resolution of the Board of Legislators restricting the County from using County from using Playland to directly compete with the City for a Children’s Museum. “Westchester County is acting like an 800 pound gorilla here, using its substantial resources to stamp out the competition,” Cantatore said. “The County’s role is to provide assistance to local governments, not compete with them.” Cantatore said that establishing a Children’s Museum in White Plains is an important priority and said that as County Legislator, he would work closely with Mayor Delfino to accomplish the City’s goal. According to the Association Children’s Museums, national attendance at children’s museums has boomed in the last decade, as the institutions have become “a new kind of town square”. In the year 2000, 33 million children and families visited a children’s museum in the United States, up from 8 million in 1991. Visiting children range in age from preschoolers to 6th and 7th graders at some locations. These museums complement efforts in schools, childcare centers, and homes to enrich the lives and education of children.
