Fifteen people were arrested and the entrance to Playland was closed Tuesday afternoon after a dispute at the park involving religious dress.
Police from multiple departments from throughout Westchester County were called in for assistance.
The dispute broke out at about 2:30 p.m. near the park's entrance between members of the Muslim American Society of New York, according to Peter Tartaglia, deputy commissioner of Westchester County Parks. Fighting began when they were told they would be denied access to certain rides if they wore religious garb, Tartaglia said.
Two seasonal officers were injured while joining Westchester County Police who were trying to break up the scuffle, he said.
At least 60 police vehicles from eight surrounding departments quickly arrived at the park and park visitors say they thought that as many as 20 or more people were taken away from the park by police.
The park and its rides remained open Tuesday, but new visitors were not being allowed into the park. Tartaglia said no one inside was asked to leave the park.
Members of the Muslim American Society of New York said they were at the park today for a group visit, with members from Yonkers, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. There were 3,000 members of the tour group, comprising half of the 6,000 patrons that visited Playland on Tuesday. The group was at the park celebrating Eid ul-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast), which marks the end of Ramadan. The holiday lasts for three days and includes celebrations with prayers, sweets and presents for children, and community festivities.
Members of the group said that some of their fellow members sought refunds from that park and that led to a disturbance. Park officials dispute this, saying a refund was offered.
Tartaglia said the rules and regulations of the park were made clear before the group arrived, blaming group organizers for not conveying the message.
"Part of our rules and regulations, which we painstakingly told them over and over again, is that certain rides you can not wear any sort of headgear," said Tartaglia. "It's a safety issue for us on rides, it could become a projectile."
Members were are at the park gates shortly after the incident, noting that they had not been able to get information about the status of friends and relatives. Members of the group said they were discussing what to do next — whether they should stay at the entrance to the park or leave.
"They just want to make our life a nightmare for no reason," said Akram Farghlay, while waiting outside.
Akram Ghadami, a member of the group, said they came to Playland to have fun and celebrate the holiday.
"We shouldn't be treated that way," Ghadami said. "We have a right to have a little fun like everyone else. Why are they making a big deal about this?"
He was standing at the entrance to Playland with several of his friends, waiting for others who were still inside the park.
"For some reason, they think everyone in there is a terrorist," Ghadami said.
Others said the situation was blown out of proportion, and didn't require such a large police presence.
"If that person had a problem, they should have just handcuffed the person and taken him away without making a big scene," said Ali Shibah, who was leaving the park with his wife and children.
The 15 arrested are charged with misdemeanors, Tartaglia said, but other charges are possible. Those arrested were taken to Westchester County Police offices in Hawthorne and Ossining. The suspects were mostly from New York City. They were arraigned and released Tuesday evening, according to a statement the county released Tuesday night.
The park's entrance was open by Tuesday evening.
Here's what Playland says about restrictions on head gear:
• Loose articles and personal possessions such as electronic devices, keys, hats, glasses, backpacks, purses and stuffed animals should be left at home, kept in a locker or left with a non-rider while at the Park or on rides. Lockers are provided for a fee, and some rides provide shared bins. All items and clothing must be appropriately secured while on a ride; some smaller items can be stored/secured in cargo pockets or waist pouches. Hats must be secured, and jackets/sweaters must be worn properly and not around the waist while on a ride. Some rides do not allow backpacks, purses or head gear of any kind.
I agree 100% with you on this. There is a park policy regarding headwear, it is a non-denominational policy not for any specific group.
I too was censored for simply stating that people must assimilate. Apparently Zack as many liberals want, has an issue with confronting reality and instead resorts to PC. Good call on CAIR. I believe as well this was a set up in some way. You can tell those on here who tend to give moral equivalency to all and those (like you Im sure)who watch Fox news, "get it" and will never ever forget 9/11. Booyaah.
As for the "riots", we saw nothing and heard nothing. We saw a bunch of people praying and assumed it was part of the muslim guests' daily routine. We had no idea anything was going on until we saw the very big police presence at the main gait. I've never seen so many cops in one place outside of a major city. It was clear they were concerned that things could go bad. Some people are blowing this out of proportion! It's not about assimilation, or politics or religion. It's a darn safety issue! We experienced a peaceful, calm day right til the end when we left around 5:30 pm.
Interesting. So you say the park was NOT closed down before 5:30 as the story mentions?
Unfortunately this is a HUGE issue. One of the reasons 9/11 happened is we decided to ignore a small majority of a decent religion that is an explosive one. The small group TODAY is no small way will make the NEXT 9/11 happen again. That is why I ask how the majority of the Muslim religion as a whole will recognize the 10th anniversary of an attack against OUR country. Will you side with this country or will you silence simply condone those in your religion who wish us harm? If you dont understand what Im saying and dont "get it" then you likely dont watch Fox news and you certainly arent part of the Tea Party. Prove me wrong/..PLEASE!
Please remember to keep the discussion civil. Everyone can express their opinion in a respectful manner, but you must abide by our terms of service.
We need a little more common sense here. Islamist extremists don't like amusement parks, which let men mix with women and take people's minds off God. The Muslims at Playland were no different from you or me. They need to do a little better planning. next time, that's all.
The traffic coming INTO the park was completely blocked, but not going out. We weren't told/asked/forced to leave. It might have been 5:25 - I have two young kids so I'm estimating the time. Point was, we were there pretty much all day and it was a pretty good experience.
I've shut down the commenting thread on this story because while some commenters have stuck with the issue at hand—Playland's headgear policy vs. whether religious dress should be a part of the policy—others seem to be intent on discussing 9/11, Osama Bin Laden and Islamic extremism, which have no relevance to the incident that occurred at Playland on Tuesday. If the story dealt with those issues, then those comments—which would have to be in line with our terms of services—would be warranted. Thanks, Satta Sarmah Hudson Valley Associate Regional Editor