22 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MAY 2021
ADVENTURELAND PRESIDENT STEVEN GENTILE
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
Steven Gentile, president and co-owner of
L.I. Adventureland, an amusement park
on Long Island, talked about making it
through the pandemic, reopening, and
its newest ride.
How did you adjust to the pandemic?
The pandemic unfortunately kept us
closed during the 2020 season, even
though on July 8, we were prepared for
the fourth phase of reopening. They
ended up excluding the amusement industry
from that fourth phase. We were
prepared and ready to go.
What did you do? We pivoted out of that
closure to do some movies and concerts
during the summer of 2020. It was helpful
for us to keep us relevant on Long Island. I
feel that Long island people were supporting
us. Our movies, and concerts gave us
a chance to support them.
What did you do while closed? We kept
our full-time staff employed throughout
the pandemic. That enabled us to do a
lot of painting, fixing, adjusting different
things. We got a new ride this year
called “The Sports Tower” from Italy.
It’s a 60-foot sports tower that gives you
an aerial view of Adventureland and
Farmingdale. You spin in your sportsthemed
gondola. At nighttime, the lights
on the ride give you a beautiful light
show.
When did you reopen? We got the green
light to open up the amusement industry
April 10, so April 10, Saturday,
was our first day of operation.
We had all the social protocols
in place. The park is open at 33
percent. We found ourselves
to have a strong reservations
system. We had
strong results.
How do you manage people there? All
purchases must be done off our website,
so we can have staggered entry, entering
the park. Each hour we allow a certain
number of people to sign up and enter
the park through our online portal. We
don’t want a cluster at the ticket booth or
waiting online.
Are all the rides open? All the rides are
open. The rides are running at a capacity
“It’s pent-up fun people were not able to experience over
the past year.”
of 33 percent. You can push some to 50
percent, because they are spaced out in
a safe way. Most of the rides are socially
distanced already.
What’s the atmosphere like? Fantastic.
I think it’s pent-up fun people were not
able to experience over the past year.
They could take advantage of other
things to do on Long
Island. Adventureland
is one of those
things to hit once
or twice during
the summer.
Who’s going? We’re getting a lot of parents
with their kids and quite a few 14-,
15-, and 16-year-olds. It’s mostly a family
crowd. The park is open Saturdays and
Sundays through Memorial Day. After
Memorial Day, our hours broaden. We’ll
be open seven days a week by the end of
June when schools let out.
Are you making any other changes?
We’re bringing in more food items. We
brought in beer, wine and seltzer for
the first time in 25 years. It’s being well
received and well respected. Parents are
taking advantage of that in a nice way.
How did you handle things financially?
We took advantage of the PPP and
the SBA’s COVID-19 Economic Injury
Disaster Loans (EIDL). The PPP should
be forgiven, since we didn’t open and
lost at least 95 percent of our income
from the previous year. The EIDL loans
have to be paid back. We’re hoping our
industry, the amusement park industry,
will be included in any grants out there to
be offered, primary the SVOG Shuttered
Venue Operators Grant. Grants are coming
down from New York State.
What’s the status of your foundation?
Last year, the pandemic caused us to
cancel our foundation’s largest fundraising
event for Adventureland’s Helping
Hands Foundation, created in 2015 after
my dad, Tony Gentile, passed away in
2013. Now our VIP event will be held Friday,
Sept. 10. It’s primarily a fundraiser
for the the foundation’s scholarship fund.
We incorporated my mom Vivian into
that scholarship. It’s the Vivan and Tony
Gentile Scholarship Fund.
How does the upcoming year look?
When you operate at 33 percent, that
means you’re operating at 33 percent
income. We’re happy that we’re open
and able to generate some income. We’re
happy for ourselves and our guests, our
fans, the public. We get to see them and
they get to see us and enjoy the park. We
need to be safe and practice the proper
protocols, but we need the powers that be
to expand our 33 percent to get to a higher
percentage. We need to be included in
grants.
CORNER OFFICE
Steven Gentile on the carousel at Adventureland in Farmingdale. (Photo by Jeanine Gentile)
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