Free Ride - Unstable Arrangement At Van Cortlandt Park Equestrian Centre

Betsy Smith's Revenue and Concession Dept. On the Hot Seat Again

"The (John Liu) audit gives voice to a growing concern among city labor groups and advocates that the park’s concessions are being mismanaged under Assistant Parks Commissioner Betsy Smith, a friend and neighbor of Mayor Bloomberg’s. Parks vendors account for 91 percent of the city’s concession revenue, yet oversight is minimal."

"Parks has over 400 concessions and a limited number of auditors and thus we must prioritize the use of our auditing resources,” said a Parks Department agency spokesman.

Cowboy, a horse at the Riverdale Equestrian Center in Van Cortlandt Park, W. 254th St. and Broadway in the Bronx. The city isn't taking boarding fees for 43 stalls at the center. A Parks Department audit also found that Rusty Holzer’s company, Catango Corporation, failed to charge boarding fees for 12 stalls housing personal horses and neglected to collect revenue from riding lessons by an unapproved operator, piling up more than $100,000 in debt to taxpayers from 2007 to 2009. Parks says in has no plans to audit Catango or pursue debts incurred prior to 2007. (Photo: Enid Alvarez/New York Daily News)

Bronx

Talk about a free ride: The city is giving away Bronx stable stalls to horses that compete in the Olympic Games for Canada, according the New York Daily News.

The Parks Department is forgoing boarding fees from 43 stalls at the Riverdale Equestrian Centre in Van Cortlandt Park, including several that house horses owned by Canadian equestrian Ashley Holzer, the Daily News has learned. The agency claims the horses “raise the profile” of the sparkling facility on Broadway.

But not everyone agrees.

“The fact that there are Canadian Olympic horses at the Riverdale Equestrian Centre — I don’t see how that benefits the taxpayers in any way,” said Bob Bender, Community Board 8 parks committee chairman.

United States Olympic hopefuls also train at the center, said Holzer. She has competed at three Olympic Games for Canada and is the wife of Rusty Holzer, who runs the center for Parks as a concession.

Her husband is the son of Andy Warhol muse Baby Jane Holzer. Parks has allowed the Holzers to stable the Olympic horses for free since 1998, according to a recent audit by the agency.

The Parks audit also found that Rusty Holzer’s company, Catango Corporation, failed to charge boarding fees for 12 stalls housing personal horses and neglected to collect revenue from riding lessons by an unapproved operator, piling up more than $100,000 in debt to taxpayers from 2007 to 2009.

Meanwhile, a new audit by City Controller John Liu states that better management of Parks concessions from 2008 to 2010 could have yielded $8.8 million more in revenue for the city.

Rather than collect Catango’s debt, Parks has asked Holzer to repay taxpayers by making more than $100,000 in improvements at the center. The agency has no plans to audit Catango or pursue debts incurred prior to 2007.

“Parks has over 400 concessions and a limited number of auditors and thus we must prioritize the use of our auditing resources,” said an agency spokesman.

Bender called the agency’s response “troubling.”

“Maybe it makes sense to hire a few more auditors,” he said.

Most of the stalls without boarding fees house lesson horses that generate revenue and are used in programs for children and adults with special needs, said the Parks spokesman. The stalls also house Parks police horses. “Parks does not believe that the license agreement prohibits this arrangement,” said the spokesman.

The agency claims the arrangement has not interfered with public demand for the stalls because the stables are not at capacity. Catango is required to remove non-paying horses to make room for paying horses if necessary. Catango has exceeded its $1 million capital commitment by more than $600,000, according to Parks, greatly upgrading what was a shabby facility.

“We run the finest equestrian center in New York City,” said Rusty Holzer, calling it “a feather in the cap” of the Parks Department and the city.

Read More:

Unstable arrangement: NYC housing horses that compete in Olympics -

for Canada- for free!,

Questions about why taxpayer bucks are helping Canada

New York Daily News - December 16 2011 -

By Daniel Beekman

Parks Dept. Lost Millions In Conssesion Revenue Due To Poor Management - Audit

A Walk In The Park - December 6, 2011

Travesty on the Green! Empty Tavern Cost City $2.2 M

The New York Observer - December 7, 2011 - By Kat Stoeffel