Sunday, June 5, 2011

Musicians Out Cafe In Central Park Bethesda Music Crackdown


















Apparently the City prefers the sound of cash registers over Bach and Beethoven. The Parks Department has contracted with John Fraser, owner of the trendy Upper West Side eatery Dovetail, to provide a food cart at the Historic Bethesda Terrace Arcade. Called PULLCART In Central Park, plans show an 8-by-10-foot stainless-steel cart facing the iconic Bethesda Fountain at 72nd Street. Dozens of tables - including 20 outside - would be divided outside and inside along the 150-year-old mosaic walls according to documents obtained by NYC Park Advocates. The highest priced item on the menu is alcohol. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.


"Our signage and menus will leverage the history of Central Park to enrichen the experience," the proposal says. "Our logo and visual identity will lead the way."


On May 23rd, the Central Park Conservancy and the City began posting "Quiet Zone" signs adjacent to the Bethesda Arcade. A month earlier the City began cracking down on musicians singing and performing un-amplified which has resulted in numerous tickets and an arrest.


Manhattan


Roll over, Beethoven.


Virtuoso musicians at Central Park's Bethesda Fountain Terrace may be left singing the blues now that the city has OK'd plans to turn the longtime open-air music venue into a food and booze court, according to the New York Post.


















Music Lovers interfering with commerce? Under the proposed plan partitions would separate the main concourse of the Bethesda Terrace Arcade from the concession area, the area where the audience is standing. In return for selling $8 to $10 beers, $8 glasses of wine and $7 to $9 sandwiches, the contract stipulates the city would get a guaranteed $80,000 for the first year and $102,000 in the last year of the six-year contract, or 15 percent of gross receipts, whichever is higher.



The city's recent "noise" crackdown and posting of a "Quiet Zone" sign in the storied arcade has pitted classical performers who enjoy the excellent acoustics and appreciative crowds against ticket-blitzing park cops. At least one singer was taken away in handcuffs.


"It's absurd that the city is trying to take away what is enjoyment by so many for a watering hole for the wealthy," said Geoffrey Croft of New York City Park Advocates.


"It's open season on musicians and artists in the cultural capital of the world," he fumed. "It seems abundantly clear [the Parks Department] is paving the way to bring in this concession. It's an embarrassment."


The agency has contracted with John Fraser, owner of the trendy Upper West Side eatery Dovetail, to provide a "high-quality specialty [food] cart with seating, at which Parks will allow the sale of beer and wine," Parks Department documents show.


Schematics show an 8-by-10-foot stainless-steel cart facing the iconic Bethesda Fountain at 72nd Street. Seventy-five tables would be divided outside and inside along the 150-year-old mosaic walls.

















Non ADA compliant. The nearest bathroom to the proposed cafe is up 18 steps. Apparently this issue has not been addressed as no plans have surfaced publicly to accommodate people with disabilities. The arcade terrace itself is also not ADA compliant.

In return for selling $8 to $10 beers, $8 glasses of wine and $7 to $9 sandwiches, the contract stipulates the city would get a guaranteed $80,000 for the first year and $102,000 in the last year of the six-year contract, or 15 percent of gross receipts, whichever is higher, according to documents obtained by The Post.


"It's all in the Parks' hands," Fraser said, adding that he was unaware of any controversy over usage of the Bethesda Fountain area.

















Attracted by its wonderful acoustics, for more than a century musicians have flocked to play in the historic Bethesda Terrace Arcade. The City recently began prohibiting this activity.

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