A dinosaur educational park would differ from an amusement park, says Cardone

The difference between an amusement park and the much questioned and contested Dinosaur Park proposed for Monroe was recently explained by Tony Cardone, Town of Monroe supervisor.

“At an amusement park, you’re primarily being amused by rides,” he said. “The dinosaur park is educational and recreational. The only rides would be a train and carousel. The 15 animatronic dinosaurs would be educational, with signage about them. Seminars would be given in geodomes, and an archaeological dig area would be a place where kids could dig for dinosaur bones. How many dinosaur parks do you learn at? You don’t see that.”

Motorized “dinosaur scooters” would be available to children four to ten years old in a fenced off area. Elsewhere, others could play miniature golf and, seasonally, part of the parking lot would become an ice rink

Food trucks and kiosks would feed hungry dinosaur gazers.

These details were presented at a March 7 town board meeting, now on video on the town website.

“Only four people attended,” Cardone said.

This week, 160 people attended a public hearing for the project.

Developer Neil Gold aims to actualize his dinosaur vision by mid- to late 2023, Cardone said, but county, state and SEQRA requirements would be hurdles.

The 131-acre property has not been used for 50 years, Cardone noted. The southern portion, near Orange and Rockland, was previously mined for ore.

“That would be preserved for history and safety,” he said. “There are holes in the ground.”