Newly Formed Washington Sq. Park Conservancy Accused Of Influence Peddling In Hot-Dog Vendor Banning

On The Hot Seat.  Founding Washington Square Park Conservancy board members   Justine Leguizamo, Gwen Evans, Veronica Bulgari and Elizabeth Ely.  Emails show the fledgling group had already succeeded in influencing public park policy before the group even presented themselves to the public for the first time on June 5, 2013.  “This is a private, affluent group of women being given decision-making power unbeknownst to the public,” said Cathryn Swan, who first exposed the removal of hot dog vendors on her Washington Square Park Blog.  (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates.) Click on image to enlarge

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Critics wary of yet another public-private park group forming and exerting influence over public park policy say their fears have already come to fruition in Washington Square Park.

According to emails obtained the through a Freedom of Information Law the Washington Square Park Conservancy's high profile board were already trying to stick its nose in park business even before the group publicly unveiled themselves to the public in the spring. 

The newly formed conservancy is being accused of using its influence to remove hot-dog vendors from areas of the park and replace them with high-end sellers while the group was still forming.

While the hot dogs will be gone by the end of December according to the Parks Department, the city is keeping the gelato stand run by Mario Batali — a conservancy board member — along with a famous Indian cart. It’s also making room for a stand selling gourmet ice-cream sandwiches called Melt.  

In an interesting nutritional note the Parks Department apparently thinks ice-cream sandwiches are a "food choice." The move to sell the ice cream  is "part of a broader initiative to bring a more diverse selection of food choices to New Yorkers,” according to a parks spokesman Phil Abramson.

The idea to move the hotdog vendors apparently came at the behest of public complaints and once the conservancy complained the group is apparently claiming no responsibly for the Parks Department's decision.  

“We got some word from our neighbors that [the hot-dog vendors] were unsightly,” said Veronica Bulgari, the conservancy’s president. “We suggested moving them based on what other people were telling us. The fact that it was done was Parks’ decision.”

However when asked who actually complained the group's chairwoman Betsey Ely named George Vello­nakis, the controversial architect behind the $30 million park redesign. 

Moon Mohammad, 35,  an immigrant from Bangladesh,  has manned a hot dog cart at Washington Square Park for three years. “If I move outside the park, I’ll make hundreds less [a week]. It affects my business.” (Photo: Helayne Seidman)

What a bunch of weenies!

A private, celebrity-studded park conservancy has succeeded in booting two poor hot-dog vendors from Washington Square Park — to make the area less “unsightly,” according to the New York Post. 

While the dirty-water dogs will be gone by the end of December, the city is keeping the gelato stand run by Mario Batali — a conservancy board member — along with a famous Indian cart. It’s also making room for a stand selling gourmet ice-cream sandwiches.

“I will miss this spot,” said Moon Mohammad, 35, an immigrant from Bangladesh who for three years manned a cart inside the park, which is teeming with hungry college students in the heart of NYU. “If I move outside the park, I’ll make hundreds less [a week]. It affects my business.”

In April, The Post revealed the city Parks Department was secretly forming a conservancy with the help of actor John Leguizamo’s wife, Justine, and socialite Veronica Bulgari.

Now it appears the private group was calling the shots well before introducing themselves to the public this summer.

Memos obtained by a park watchdog show the celebs asked the Parks Department to relocate the $2 frankfurters in March — from the arch to the east and west sides of the fountain. Their request was granted a month later.

“This is a private, affluent group of women being given decision-making power unbeknownst to the public,” fumed Cathryn Swan, who first exposed the red-hot removal on the Washington Square Park Blog.


Leguizamo Wife's Park Group Already Meddling In Public Park Policy? Actor John Leguizamo spoke in favor if his socialite's wife Justine's project at a Community Board 2 meeting on June 5th, 2013.   (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates.) Click on image to enlarge

“This is indicative of what their future plans might look like,” she added. “[They’re] treating the park as a pristine garden rather than an active public space.”

According to meeting notes, the conservancy asked park administrator Sarah Neilson to “follow up on moving the hot-dog guy away from the Arch view corridor” and to push for “new and different food vendors.”

Neilson, who earns $88,000 as a Parks employee, also serves as the conservancy’s executive director — an unpaid position some critics charge is a conflict of interest.

Instead of offering the carts other spots inside the park, Parks honchos signed a deal with Melt, a Lower East Side bakery that will sell $4 ice-cream sandwiches.

Batali will continue operating his Otto Enoteca Pizzeria Gelato Cart, which has been in the northwest corner of the park since 2005. The NY Dosas cart — a purveyor of Indian crepes in the park for the last decade — will stay in the southwest corner.

Still, the conservancy denies it’s engaging in class warfare.

“We got some word from our neighbors that [the hot-dog vendors] were unsightly,” said Bulgari, the conservancy’s president. “We suggested moving them based on what other people were telling us. The fact that it was done was Parks’ decision.”

Asked which neighbors complained, conservancy chairwoman Betsey Ely named George Vello­nakis, the architect behind the $30 million park redesign. He declined to comment.

A Parks spokesman said the agency is allowing contracts with the hot-dog stands to expire to “ensure clear views of the fountain and arch and . . . to bring in a more diverse selection of food options.”



(image: washingtonsquareparkblog)

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