Tavern on the green

Tavern on the Greed

Tweeding on the Park?(Queens Crap)

From A Walk in the Park:

The city has finally announced the compensation it will receive from the controversial new Tavern On the Green and not surprisingly it is far less than what it was previously offered, NYC Park Advocates has learned.  The fees to be paid to the city begin at just $1,000,000 a year and rise to $3,273,000 for the final year totaling $ 38.7 million over the twenty year agreement. By comparison, Jennifer Leroy whose family had operated the iconic eatery since 1974 - agreed to pay the city $86 million in fees over a 20-year lease according to financial documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Law. Mayor Bloomberg rejected that proposal two years ago and instead awarded the license to Dean Poll who offered $57.3 million. Mr. Poll, who runs the nearby Boathouse Cafe - was unable to open the restaurant.  In addition to losing tens of million of dollars in lost revenue the City is also spending $ 10 million dollars in capital improvements fixing up the building for the new concessionaire who will then build out the space. The dramatic renovation has completely gutted the property. The Bloomberg administration awarded the twenty-year Central Park bar and restaurant concession to the Philadelphia-based Emerald Green Group, where Jim Caiola, a brother-in-law of ex-deputy mayor - and current Bloomberg LP. employee Kevin Sheekey - is a partner. Mr. Sheekey is also the older brother of former Parks Department spokeswoman Megan Sheekey who was appointed by Bloomberg as the president of the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. I think an investigation is in order.

Friday, May 21, 2010

The New Tavern on the (Dog) Green

The New Tavern on the (Dog) Green

From the NY Post:

"If Tavern on the Green ends up dead for good, as now appears plausi ble, City Hall will have only itself to blame.

As The Post has reported regularly, contract talks between prospective new Tavern operator Dean Poll and union Local 6 have gone nowhere. Until they make a deal, the Parks Department won't give a license to Poll, whom it chose last summer to run the landmark eatery. In tapping Poll, the city threw out common sense in favor of a nutty agenda utterly removed from the realities of the restaurant business. It's reminiscent of Mayor Bloomberg's too-frequent utopian obsessions at the expense of real progress -- like his far-fetched "vision" for Lower Manhattan after 9/11, even as he ducked responsibility for the World Trade Center site." Tavern on brink

The Parks Department decided last summer to dump longtime Tavern operator Jennifer LeRoy in favor of Poll, who runs Central Park's non-union Boathouse. Bloomberg's Left Tavern on the Green To Rot--Steve Cuozzo - NYPOST.com * Future of Tavern on the Green is ... a hot dog stand? (DN) * Tavern on Green Back on Block (WSJ) * Team Cuomo is working behind the scenes to give AG hopeful Kathleen Rice a boost * Cuomo tried clearing the AG field by attempting to block two unions from endorsing Eric Schneiderman, and asking Sean Coffey to run for comptroller.

Tavern on the Truck?

Mike Bloomberg told Donald Trump to hold off measuring the drapes for Tavern on the Green.

My name is Mike and you'll be 'waiting' on me today * As Trump Eyes The Tavern, Unions Eye The Boathouse (Gothamist)