Prospect Park's $74M Ice Rinks Project Unveiled

One of two rinks at Lakeside, part of a 26 acre $74 million redevelopment project in Prospect Park that includes a café and event space.  The project,  along the southeast shore of the park’s lake, has been troubled by delays and money issues.   Approximatly two-thirds of the budget came from city and state funds.   (Photo: Christie M. Farriella for New York Daily News) 

The Prospect Park Alliance will run the complex under a licence agreement with the city.  The Alliance will be required to pay the City of New York nothing for the first year and just $ 100, 000 annually beginning the second year according to the terms of the sole source concession agreement the city "negotiated" with the influential group. 

The new facility replaces the Kate Wollman Memorial Rink which opened in 1961. The complex  opens to the public on Friday.  

Brooklyn

Park officials, flanked by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials, marked the completion of the year-round skating facility named the Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside on Tuesday according to tthe Wall Street Journal.  

The $74 million restoration project covers 26 acres of parkland and includes the construction of new rinks for ice and roller skaters, a seasonal water-play area, an event space and a cafe. Parts of the new facility, such as the parking lot, are still being built.

Prospect Park was designed in the 1860s by architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux following the completion of Central Park. The new Lakeside facility replaces Prospect Park's former Wollman ice skating rink, which was built by Robert Moses in 1960 and was closed in 2010.

During lake excavation in 2011, parts of an original granite wall and several drinking fountains were found at the bottom of the lake, covered in mud. Some parts found during the work were reused in the restoration, according to Christian Zimmerman, vice president of design and construction at Prospect Park Alliance, which oversees the park.

"Preservation wasn't important back then, but it is to us," said Mr. Zimmerman, who was a designer for the renovation project.

The Lakeside facility has a circular and seamless theme, said Tod Williams, who was also a designer of the space with partner Billie Tsien. He said the outdoor ice rink is designed to make skaters feel as if they are on the lake, while the paths surrounding the center gently curve upward, so those talking a walk in the park may not notice they are actually going up onto the facility's roof terrace.

The rinks will be operated by Upsilon Ventures, which also operates the ice rink in Bryant Park. Admission for skating will be $6 on weekdays and $8 on weekends and holidays. Skate rentals will be $5.

The center was named in honor of the LeFraks after a $10 million donation from the family, which is well known in the real-estate industry.

The park previously unveiled two other portions of the restoration—Music Island and the Esplanade.

The brand new 26-acre LeFrak Center at Lakeside includes a pair of adjacent ice rinks, one open and one covered, which will be used for roller skating during the warmer months, as well as a café and event space, according to the New York Daily News. 

 “This is a thrilling day for us,” Prospect Park Alliance President Emily Lloyd said of the transformation, which officials called Prospect Park’s most ambitious improvement since the green space was built nearly 150 years ago.

 It restored and redesigned 26 acres of the southeast corner of the park. 

 “It symbolizes the historic restoration and expansion of city parks our administration has overseen since 2002,” said outgoing Mayor Bloomberg.   

“I think it also epitomizes the spectacular renaissance of Brooklyn over the past 12 years.”  

The new Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center replaces the old Robert Moses-era Wollman Rink, which was torn down in 2010 after nearly five decades in operation.  The rinks officially open on Friday and will be open for skating and ice hockey from November through March, and roller skating from April through October.  

They will be open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays; from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Sundays. Skating rink admission costs $6 on weekdays and $8 on weekends. Skates rent for $5.  LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, located closest to the Parkside and Ocean Aves. entrance. For information visit, www.prospectpark.org/about/lakeside.

Read More:

Skaters Take to the Park New Rink Complex in Prospect Park After Restoration Project

The Wall Street Journal  - December 17, 2013 - By Kaya Laterman

Officials unveil $74M Prospect Park ice skating rinks 

New York Daily News - December 17, 2013 - By Natalie Musumeci  

Prospect Park Alliance In Lakeside Skate Rink $ Windfall

A Walk In The Park  - November 10, 2013  - By Geoffrey Croft

Prospect Park Alliance In Lakeside Skate Rink $ Windfall

A rendering of the two rinks at Lakeside,  part of a 26 acre $74 million redevelopment project in Prospect Park. The project,  along the southeast shore of the park’s lake,  has been troubled by delays and money issues.   Approximatly two-thirds of the budget came from city and state funds. The new facility replaces the Kate Wollman Memorial Rink which opened in 1961.

The financial windfall predicted for the Prospect Park Alliance is coming to fruition. Under a new deal the Prospect Park Alliance will run the complex under  a licence agreement with the city.   The Alliance will be required to pay the City of New York nothing for the first year and just $ 100, 000 annually beginning the second year according to the terms of the sole source concession agreement the city "negotiated"  with the influential group.  The Parks Department is now trying to claim the Alliance will receive the same amount of revenue from the Lakeside facility as they did with Wollman Rink in the early years - whatever that means. 

Parks sources have identified a December 21st opening date.  The rink will be open for limited hours during the week  Monday - Thursday - in order to maximixe revenue and reduce costs.   The deal goes before the mayoral controlled Franchise and Concession Review Committee on Tuesday,  November 12th.  

Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

Call it a parting gift from the Mayor.  The Bloomberg Administration is getting ready to award a sweet-heart sole source deal to the Prospect Park Alliance to run the $74 million Lakeside Center project.

The Alliance will be required to pay the City of New York nothing for the first year and just $ 100,  000 beginning the second year of  a  seventeen year deal  according to the license agreement obtained by NYC Park Advocates.   

The annual fee to the city increases by  just a thousand dollars a year over the life of  the deal  culminating with $ 116,  097 in the year 2030.

The lucrative license agreement -  potentially worth tens of millions of dollars over the life of the agreement - seeks to reward the public/private partnership handsomely for raising $ 19 million of the Lakeside Center's $ 74 million dollar budget, while also 

requiring  the group to continue to raise private money for the general operation of the public park which they have done for years.

Approval for years 3 through 17 are continent upon the Alliance renewing it's maintenance & operation agreement for the park which expires in July 2015. 

The indoor rink's newly installed dasher boards under the dark blue painted ceiling, "incised with a constellation of big silvery curlicues, like giant skate marks," -  frame the dance floor and cocktail area for The Prospect Park Alliance's Lakeside Ball gala held on Saturday night.  Tickets for the event began at $ 425 and went up to $ 50,000 for a table of ten. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click in images to enlarge

The city "negotiated" the sole source concession agreement with Prospect Park Alliance to operate and maintain the Prospect Park Lakeside Center including two skate rinks (one covered and one open) during the winter, a roller rink during the summer, a café with three adjacent private event rooms, boat rentals and  bicycle rentals. 

The agreement also allows the group to operate mobile push carts in the park near the facility. 

The City has also forgone the standard  "vs. a percentage of gross receipts, whichever is higher" language  found in Parks Department revenue licensing contracts. 

The flat rate locks in a low return to the city regardless of revenue generated from the facility. 

The City is also paying all utility costs - electricity,  water,  gas,  heat and sewer costs and coolant associated with the operation of the 26, 000 sq. ft. ice center.  (Operators of the Cafe however will be responsible for electrical and gas costs.)  

In other unusual provision in the agreement, if gross receipts exceed seven million dollars annually the City and the Alliance,"to confer in good faith,"  agree to discuss whether or not the Alliance should pay for utility costs. 

The Alliance is expected to make out handsomely in the new deal  as revenue at Lakeside are expected to dwarf the former Wollman Rink's deteriorated single rink ice facility earnings. 

The city received more than 45 percent of the rink revenue during Wollman's last year of operation.   In 2010,  Wollman generated $512, 000 in revenues with $232, 000 from entrance fees heading back to the city’s general fund and the remaining $280, 000 from other concessions going to the Alliance for park maintenance. Under the new plan,  the Alliance would collect all the revenues and give the city back a small flat and keep the rest ostensibly  towards maintaining the park.

The Prospect Park Alliance refused to respond to several requests seeking comment including providing Lakeside revenue projections.

By comparison in Central Park Donald Trump operates two popular ice rinks that raised $6.6 million in revenues in 2011. The city got back $2.2 million for its general fund,  which pays the expenses for city services.

The rink will be open limited hours during the week  Monday - Thursday - just twenty hours - in order to maximize revenue and reduce costs.    The rinks will be open for 26 hours on the weekends. 

The project has been plagued by cost overruns, delays and a loss of funding. 

The facility is expected to open a few days before Christmas. Parks sources have identified a December 21st opening  date. 

The deal goes before the mayoral controlled Franchise and Concession Review Committee on Tuesday,  November 12th.

Bloomberg family friend Elizabeth "Betsy" Smith - head of revenue and marketing for the Parks Department will sign the deal for the City,  along with Prospect Park Alliance head, Emily Lloyd.  

The Parks Department also refused to reveal projected revenue for the Alliance and instead dumped a statement meant to deceive and without providing any information.   

"After paying the fee to the City per the concession agreement, we expect the Prospect Park Alliance will receive the same amount of revenue from the Lakeside facility as they did with Wollman Rink in the early years. All revenue generated from Lakeside and the operator will be used to support park programming and maintenance," the agency said.

Each year  the City's elected officials allocate a fraction of the funds desperately needed to properly maintain, operate, secure, and program our  public parks.

The city continues to try and abdicate its responsibilities by entering in these so called public/private agreements that officials are not only allowing but actively encouraging.  They are increasingly resorting to these pay-to-play funding schemes.   

These deals hand over enormous power and decision making authority to these groups with little transparency and accountability on what is supposed to be public land.

Influential park groups are increasing relying on revenues generated from parkland being diverted from the City's general fund into their coffers. 

Abraham Lincoln admiring the new view. The $ 74 Million dollars includes the restoration of the long-neglected shoreline, esplanade and Concert Grove. New walking and jogging paths, picnic areas, lawns and a boat dock. It also recreates Music Island, now as a nature preserve, with bald cypress, duck potato and other native trees and plants.

Abraham Lincoln holds the Emancipation Proclamation in Henry Kirke Brown's beloved statue.  Mr. Lincoln points to the words “shall be forever free.”    In 1895 the sculpture was moved from its original location - in the elliptical plaza adjoining Prospect Park, today known as Grand Army Plaza - to its current location.  For the last 50 years, the statue had faced a chain-link fence near the old Wollman Rink.

Recent financial decisions by the Prospect Park Alliance involving the privatizing of public land park for commercial uses have come under intense public scrutiny. The Alliance made peanuts from the controversial GoogaMooga booze event which destroyed parkland for two consecutive years and prevented the public being able to access dozens of acres of parkland for months. The City recently caved in and decided not to allow the event to return to the park after two years of public outcry.

The City's decision to allow the Alliance to privatize the beloved Boathouse  - the Audubon Center education center on weekends has also outraged local residents.  The group pocketed $ 200,000 in just a few months this year from renting out the historic building which prohibits public access. 

Tickets  for the Prospect Park Alliance Ball,  the non-profit's high-priced gala held on Saturday night,  began at $ 425 and went up to  

$ 50,000 for a table of ten.

Other Details include:

Ice Rink Admissions prices for are set for  $ 6.00 on weekdays, $ 8.00 on weekends and holidays, and ice skate rental is $ 5.00 at all times. 

Beginning next year the rink will be required to be open no later than November 30th.

Minimum Public Hours of Operation - Ice Skaking

Friday - 3pm to - 9pm
Saturday - 10am- 10pm
Sunday - 10am - 6pm

Addtionally another 20 hours per week shall be provided Monday - Thursday on one and or/other of the two rinks. 

The  $ 54 million dollar project also includes  the restoration of 26 acres of the Prospect Park Lake area area including its shoreline, adding five acres to the Lake and three acres of green space in the area. 

The Waterplay feature will be open from Memorial Day though Labor Day daily from 10am, to sunset.

The 54 page License agreement also contains three pages of Vending Machines Standards

Read More:

Prospect Park Alliance Looking For $ Windfall In $74 M Lakeside Center Ice Rink

A Walk In The Park - May 18, 2012

Bloomberg gives Prospect Park a nice farewell gift

New York Post - November 10, 2013 - By Rich Calder

Prospect Park ice rink deal not so slick for city: advocate

New York Daily News - November 10,  2013 -    By Reuven Blau

Prospect Park Alliance Looking For $ Windfall In $74M Lakeside Center Ice Rink

The Prospect Park Alliance is negotiating with the city to run the $ 74 million 26-acre dollar Lakeside Center Ice Rink now slated to open in the Fall 2013. The deal would allow the non-profit to keep revenue in exchange for operating and maintaining the facility including two ice skating rinks, a roller rink during the summer, a café and adjacent rooms, boat rentals and possibly bicycle rentals. Instead of revenue going to the City's general fund it would be diverted to the Alliance. The deal went before the mayoral controlled Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) in March. The project has been plagued by cost overruns, delays and a loss of funding.

May 20, 2012- Rink complex under construction. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s biggest park could soon have a major cash cow to help clean up the mess left there by massive budget cuts, the New York Post has learned.

As complaints pile up about massive maintenance problems at Prospect Park, the nonprofit organization running the 585-acre green space is currently ironing out plans with the city to operate an under-construction, $74 million ice-skating rinks project there.

Such a deal to run Lakeside Center when it opens next year would mean a major windfall of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenues for the Prospect Park Alliance, which has seen its $12.3 million budget chopped by $1.1 million since 2007.

During that time, the popular park has also seen staffing drop, which critics say helped jumpstart problems like littering, rotting lakeside trees, lake pollution -- and even animal sacrificing rituals.

Paul Nelson, an Alliance spokesman, said the anticipated “sole-source licensing agreement” with the city to run Lakeside makes sense because it’ll benefit the park’s 10 million annual visitors.

“Whatever we get will go back into the park, which has lost a lot of funding because of the economy, ” said Nelson, adding a private vendor could “just pocket most of the profits.”

At Central Park, Donald Trump runs two popular ice rinks that raised $6.6 million in revenues last year. The city got back just $2.2 million for its general fund, which pays for police, firefighters and other expenses.

At Prospect Park, the stakes aren’t as high, but profits at Lakeside are still expected to dwarf the former Wollman Rink there.

In 2010, Wollman Rink generated $512,000 in revenues during its last year of operations with $232,000 from entrance fees heading back to the city’s general fund and the remaining $280,000 from other concessions going to the Alliance for park maintenance.

Under the new plan, the Alliance would collect all the revenues and put it towards maintaining the park.

However, there are critics.

“It'll set a bad precedent where high-profile parks have another way to get more funding and are treated better than ones in poorer neighborhoods,” said Geoffrey Croft of the NYC Park Advocates. “Prospect Park needs more funding, but it should be through the city’s general fund like everything else.”

Franchise and Concession Review Committee

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION

No. 1: IN THE MATTER of the intent to seek Franchise and Concession Review Committee approval to utilize a different procedure, pursuant to Section 1-16 of the Concession Rules of the City of New York, to negotiate a Sole Source Concession Agreement with Prospect Park Alliance, Inc. for the operation and maintenance of the Prospect Park Lakeside Center including two skate rinks during the winter, a roller rink during the summer, a café and adjacent rooms, boat rentals and possibly bicycle rentals at Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Read More:

Prospect Park nonprofit finds financial windfall in $74M Lakeside Center

Brooklyn Blog - New York Post - May 17, 2012 - By Rich Calder

Prospect Park's Lakeside Rinks to Get City Backing

Brownstoner - May 17, 2012

Lakeside Center Could be Prospect Park's 'Financial Windfall'

Prospect Heights Patch - May 17, 2012

Delays, Cost Overruns and Funding Shortage In Prospect Park's $ 74 Mil. Ice Skating Project

A Walk In The Park - March 20, 2012

CONCESSION AGREEMENT PRE-SOLICITATION REVIEW MEMORANDUM

A. DETERMINATION TO UTILIZE OTHER THAN COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDS N/A
Instructions: Attach copy of draft RFP or other solicitation document, and check all applicable box(es) below. The Agency has determined that it is not practicable or advantageous to use Competitive Sealed
Bids because:

Specifications cannot be made sufficiently definite and certain to permit selection based on revenue to the City alone.

Judgment is required in evaluating competing proposals, and it is in the best interest of the City to require a balancing of revenue to the City, quality and other factors.

The agency will be pursuing a negotiated concession for the reasons listed is section (B)(3)(b) Other (Describe)

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks) will be pursuing a sole source concession agreement (Agreement) pursuant to Section 1-16 of the Concession Rules of the City of New York (different procedures) for the reasons listed in Section (B)(2) below.

B. DETERMINATION TO USE OTHER THAN COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS N/A1. Briefly summarize the terms and conditions of the concession. Add additional sheet(s), if
necessary.

To be determined at a later date – when/if the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) approves the use of a different procedure to negotiate an Agreement with the Prospect Park Alliance, Inc. (PPA).

2. Briefly explain the basis for the determination not to solicit Competitive Sealed Proposals. [Explain]
A $74 million restoration of 26 acres of parkland is underway at Prospect Park. The restoration project (“Lakeside at Prospect Park”) is restoring the Prospect Lake area and its shoreline as well as adding five acres to Prospect Lake and three acres of green space, and includes the development of a 26,000 square foot facility called the Prospect Park Lakeside Center (“Lakeside Center”). The Lakeside Center, expected to open in winter of 2012/2013, will be a major addition to the landscape of Prospect Park, and will replace Kate Wollman Rink. The amenities the Lakeside Center will offer include ice skating, hockey, roller skating, free water play, boat rentals and food service and may include bicycle rentals.

PPA was formed in 1987 to restore Prospect Park after years of budget cuts resulted in a deterioration of its natural areas and a decline in usage. In partnership with Parks, PPA restores, develops and operates Prospect Park for the enjoyment of all patrons by caring for the natural environment, preserving the historic design and serving the public through various facilities and programs. According to the current agreement for the maintenance of Prospect Park between Parks and PPA, which was entered into in July 2010 for one (1) five-year term, with three (3) five- year renewal options, PPA is required to use all of its revenues, income, donations and other sources of funding to cover PPA’s administrative costs, expenses of maintaining, operating, improving or expanding Prospect Park, or for the provision of programming at Prospect Park.
PPA will have raised $20 million for Lakeside at Prospect Park in private funds, and helped to raise over $54 million in city, state and federal funds. While Lakeside at Prospect Park is a joint public/private capital endeavor, PPA continues to be instrumental both to the fundraising portion of the project, and to the oversight of the design, development and construction of Lakeside at Prospect Park including the Lakeside Center.

PPA was formed for the express purpose of promoting and assisting Parks “in the restoration, maintenance and management” of Prospect Park. PPA has a proven track record of doing this. It has held licenses to operate many concessions in the Park, including pedal boat rentals, the Carousel and the Tennis Center as well as critical portions of the Kate Wollman Rink. It has dramatically improved service to the public and increased attendance at these concessions and in the whole Park (visitation has increased from 1.5M in the early 1980’s to 9M today). PPA has managed a wide variety of recreational and educational programs for the public in the Park: at the Tennis Center, Audubon Center at the Boathouse and at Kate Wollman Rink. These programs would be continued at the Lakeside Center. PPA knows the public who visit the Park very well, understands how each element within the Park fits together and promotes the whole Park experience as well as the individual activities and programs on offer.

Historically, Parks operated and maintained Kate Wollman Rink, including during the summer in order to provide public restrooms at great expense. Should Parks issue an Agreement to PPA, PPA would be expected to perform maintenance, regular non-structural repairs, pay and manage all service contracts, pay for all operational expenses incurred for security of the building and rinks, and oversee operations and maintenance year round.

Based on the aforementioned factors, Parks believes that it is in the City’s best interest to award an Agreement to PPA for the operation and maintenance of the Lakeside Center, including two skate rinks during the winter, one roller rink during the summer, a café and adjacent rooms, boat rentals and possibly bicycle rentals, at Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

1. 3a.  Briefly explain the selection procedure that will be utilized. [Explain]
   Parks is requesting FCRC authorization to utilize a different procedure, pursuant to Section 1-16 of the Concession Rules of the City of New York, to negotiate an Agreement with PPA, which will go before the FCRC on March 14, 2012 (“Step 1”). Once negotiated and if determined by Parks to be a significant concession, Parks and the FCRC will hold a joint public hearing on the proposed Agreement before presenting it to the FCRC for “Step 2” approval at a second public meeting. If Parks determines the concession to be non-significant, Parks will present the fully negotiated Agreement with PPA to the FCRC and request the required FCRC authorization to enter into the Agreement directly (without the need for an initial joint public hearing).
   
   
2. 3b.  If the selection procedure is a negotiated concession, check the applicable box: N/A
   The Agency made a determination that it is not practicable and/or advantageous to award a concession by competitive sealed bidding or competitive sealed proposals due to the existence of a time-sensitive situation where a concession must be awarded quickly because:
   The Agency has an opportunity to obtain significant revenues that would be lost or substantially diminished should the agency be required to solicit the concession by competitive sealed bids or competitive sealed proposals and the diminished revenue does not relate only to the present value of the revenue because of the additional time needed to solicit competitive sealed bids or competitive sealed proposals; [Explain]
   
   An existing concessionaire has been terminated, has defaulted, has withdrawn from, or has repudiated a concession agreement, or has become otherwise unavailable; [Explain]
   
   The Agency has decided, for unanticipated reasons, not to renew an existing concession in the best interest of the City and requires a substitute/successor concessionaire. [Explain]
   
   DCAS is awarding a concession to an owner of property adjacent to the concession property, or to a business located on such adjacent property, and has determined that it is not in the best interest of the City to award the concession pursuant to a competitive process because of the layout or some other characteristic of the property, or because of a unique service that can be performed only by the proposed concessionaire. [Explain]

Approved by CCPO: ___________________________________on __/___/__.
4. If the Agency has/will request unanimous FCRC approval to waive advance written notice each affected CB/BP that a selection procedure other than CSB or CSP will be utilized, explain the exigent circumstances. [Explain] N/A

The Arsenal
Central Park
New York, New York 10065

Elizabeth W. Smith Assistant Commissioner Revenue and Marketing (212) 360-1366 betsy.smith@parks.nyc.gov

City of New York Parks & Recreation
Adrian Benepe Commissioner

MEMORANDUM
TO: Hon. Martin Markowitz, President of the Borough of Brooklyn Mr. Craig Hammerman, Brooklyn Community Board #6

Mr. Jeremy Laufer, Brooklyn Community Board #7 Ms. Michelle George, Brooklyn Community Board #8 Ms. Pearl R. Miles, Brooklyn Community Board #9 Mr. Shawn Campbell, Brooklyn Community Board #14

FROM: Charlotte Hall, Project Manager

SUBJECT: Notice of Intent to Seek Franchise and Concession Review Committee Approval to Utilize a Different Procedure to Negotiate a Sole Source License Agreement with the Prospect Park Alliance, Inc. for the Operation and Maintenance of the Prospect Park Lakeside Center, including two skate rinks during the winter, one roller rink during the summer, a café and adjacent rooms, and boat and bicycle rentals at Prospect Park, Brooklyn

DATE: December 2, 2011

Pursuant to Section 1-16 of the Concession Rules of the City of New York, this is to notify the Brooklyn Borough President and Brooklyn Community Boards 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14 that the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is seeking Franchise and Concession Review Committee approval to utilize a different procedure to negotiate a sole source license agreement (Agreement) with the Prospect Park Alliance, Inc. (PPA) for the Operation and Maintenance of the Prospect Park Lakeside Center, including two skate rinks during the winter, one roller rink during the summer, a café and adjacent rooms, and boat and bicycle rentals at Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me by phone at (212) 360-3407 or via email at charlotte.hall@parks.nyc.gov 

http://www.nyc.gov/html/mocs/downloads/pdf/fcrc_other/meeting_documents_03_14_2012.pdf