Good morning subscribers. ☕ This is your Wednesday, October 23, Rye Record newsletter, curating some of the latest headlines across the city of Rye.

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Turf … field of dreams. The Rye City Council is expected to approve a bid award tonight that will transform the grass playing surface at Nursery into an artificial turf field for local youth sports teams — drawing to close two decades of stop-and-start discussions over field space at the 6.75-acre city-owned property.

The carpet is likely to be rolled out sometime next spring, according to city officials. But first the field will need to be regraded, soil removed and a drainage system installed.

“The whole project is not terribly complicated from an engineering standpoint,” City Manager Greg Usry told On The Record.

The city sent the project out to bid this summer, following the City Council’s blessing in May.

Four bids were received in total, but contaminants found — including elevated levels of pesticides and metals, including arsenic and lead — during the soil testing phase required the city to seek out amended quotes to properly dispose of it.

Usry said the additional step will not lengthen the overall timeline of the project.

One bidder withdrew and another was not responsive to all of the city’s requirements.

DeRosa Sports Construction Inc., a contractor out of Port Chester, had the lowest bid at slightly more than $2 million, which was in line with the anticipated overall project cost of $2.9 million — an amount a local pro-turf donor group raised to fund the project.

The city’s staff is recommending the council accept that bid.

-Today’s newsletter is curated by Christian Falcone

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INSTAGRAM POST OF THE WEEK 📸

-We’re gonna pat ourselves on the back for this one. Check out video from Sunday’s Halloween Window Painting Contest on Purchase Street!

-video by Alison Rodilosso; editing by Camille Botello

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IN OTHER NEWS

It’s pumpkin season. Barley Beach House at Rye Town Park was all dressed up last weekend for its Fall Family Festival. Each weekend through October, the park is transformed into a fall landscape full of pumpkins, hayrides, and just the right amount of foliage.

Game time. Ahead of their annual crosstown clash with rival Harrison, the Rye Garnets had to take care of business against capable foe Yorktown. They kept their perfect season alive with another win. -Ian Colalucci

Civility? Candidates — Democrat George Latimer and Republican Dr. Miriam Flisser — for the 16th Congressional District took part in a forum on Oct. 17.  The debate was a far cry from the bitter back-and-forth between Latimer and Congressman Jamaal Bowman ahead of their June 25 primary.

AROUND TOWN

-The Rye Y is hosting its Halloween Carnival on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 1-3 p.m. The event is free and open to all. Costumes are encouraged.

-Visit the Rye Historical Society and see how history and Halloween collide as part of its Slightly Spooky Square House tours. Remaining tour dates are this Friday (Oct. 25) and Saturday (Oct. 26).

Off the record: A NYC woman was arrested after allegedly stealing merchandise from the Dabney Lee studio on Purchase Street. The woman, 77, turned herself into police.

WEATHER

Today’s Weather Channel local forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 75 degrees. ☀️ Check out the forecast for the rest of the week here.

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CITY

City Signals Plan to Resolve Playland Tax Feud 

The Rye City Council is drafting a settlement agreement with Westchester County regarding Playland Amusement Park’s tax collection and responsibility — perhaps signaling the beginning of the end of a lengthy battle between the county and municipality.    

At its Oct. 9 meeting, the council unanimously passed a resolution to draft a settlement agreement with Westchester County, saying they didn’t want to further affect the municipalities or the institutions that rely on tax dollars.   

“All parties wish to resolve both matters so as to not impact the city, school district, and county budgets,” the resolution stated.   

-by Camille Botello

LOCAL HISTORY

‘Skinny House’ in Mamaroneck Has a Story Full of History to Tell

If it hadn’t been for “Family Day,” a project assigned to her son Dev’s second grade class, Julie Seely might not have discovered her connections to a house hundreds of miles north of her home in Baltimore, Md.

Seely, author of “Skinny House: A Memoir of Family,” told her story of the despair and devastation brought to some families by The Great Depression, and how her family persevered through it.

“The Skinny House,” built in 1932 at 175 Grand St. in Mamaroneck, still stands. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2015.

-by Zoe Loizeaux

ENVIRONMENT

City Misses Deadline for Stipulated Federal Sanitary Sewer Repairs — Again

The city has failed to meet its requirements outlined in a settlement of a federal lawsuit over clean water violations — missing the mark for the third time since 2021.   

The lapse in compliance as the city makes wide-scale sanitary sewer repairs resulted in renegotiated terms with environmental organization Save the Sound. Under those revised terms, the city agreed to spend an additional $140,000 to reconstruct the Sterling Field parking lot in a way that is environmentally beneficial.  

-by Christian Falcone & Alyssa Politi

SCHOOLS

Rye Schools Supt. Eric Byrne Announces Plans to Step Down at Year End

After nearly a decade at the helm, Rye Schools Superintendent Eric Byrne felt it was “the right time in my life” to retire — news that he announced in an email to the community Monday. 

The decision was made official at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, where Byrne, 56, formally tendered his resignation for retirement effective June 30, 2025.    

The move closes the book on an eight-year chapter steering the city’s schools. 

-by Christian Falcone