Central Park Rowboating Returns With Floating Dock - Still Not ADA Compliant

A Boathouse rowboat concession employee helps a returning rowboat onto the new dock.  Workers are now easily able to guide the rowboats  on to the dock via rollers. Row boating in Central Park returned after $ 200,000 partly taxpayer-funded renovation.  The new dock however is not ADA compliant and the city did not require it.   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

One of Central Park's most popular attractions has returned.

The Loeb Boathouse reopened its popular rowboat concession after a more than $ 200,000 - partly taxpayer funded renovation,  NYC Park Advocates has learned.  

The dock,  including its sixty-two year infrastructure were completely ripped out and replaced with a plastic floating dock.

The redesigned deck, made of brown colored polyethylene, will rise and fall with the lake and not be susceptible to flooding as the wooden planks were since they were first installed. It will also be safer. 

"Wood was missing people were falling in, " said a worker helping a family from Florida out of a boat.

"It was rotted, it's way better now. The rollers make is much easier the boats slide right up. The grip on the floor is much better,"  the worker said.


A Boathouse rowboat concession employee in Central Park helps a family returning to the new dock. 

Over the last several months The Lake in Central Park had been eerily quiet as The Loeb Boathouse rowboat concession quietly underwent a massive renovation.   Usually teeming with boating enthusiasts park goers arrived to find the concession hidden behind a green mesh construction fence with no clue as to what was going on. 

In April workers began disassembling the deteriorated deck.  Wearing waders the construction crew trudged through the murky water and removed the rotted slabs, carting them away one by one.

April, 2015.  Demolishing The Deteriorated Dock. Workers haul away the rotted wooden decking from the old dock.  

The modular system dock arrived in multiple sections two weeks ago and crews quickly began assembling it.

The city shared the costs which are supposed to be the responsibly of the concessionaire.   

One design feature did not change however - the dock is not ADA compliant.

The city did not require that a system be installed that would allow people in wheelchairs to access the boats.  This can be accomplished by installing either by a lift or transfer station. No word whether or not the city will require that when they release a new RFP. 

Both the Parks Department and the Boathouse concessionaire owner Dean Poll refused to respond to questions despite several requests.

"It was nice and sturdy," Danielle Boivin, 23, an actress who recently moved from St. Louis said of the new dock.


The modular system dock arrived in multiple sections two weeks ago and crews quickly began assembling it.

"The rowing was really fun. It's so beautiful. We got our workout for the day."

Boating on the Lake has been a popular pastime from the Park's earliest days.

Located on the East Side of the Park between 74th and 75th Streets, boating on the park's second largest water body has been a favorite since the park opened more than 150 years ago. 

Row boating is normally available from April through October.

"It was seriously fun,"  said Kanchalee Wijakpaisarn, 28, a film maker. 

"It (rowing) reminded me of Harry Potter. It was beautiful."

Rowers are able to pass under the iconic Bow Bridge (1862) which is currently closed and partly enclosed in a white tent to prevent debris from falling into the Lake. The beautiful cast-iron bridge, and the second oldest in America. 

For the first time rowers are also able to pass under the iconic Bow Bridge (1862) for an up close and personal inspection of the repair work underway.  The cast-iron bridge, the second oldest in America,  is currently closed and partly enclosed in a white tent to prevent debris from falling into the Lake.

Row boats can be rented at the Loeb Boathouse daily, 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. The boats must be returned by 6:30 pm. Rentals cost $15 for the first hour and $3 each additional 15 minutes.  Note: The website has not been updated and still states that the dock is under repair. Also the $ 12 cost to row for an hour was raised last year to $ 15.  

Photo Gallery:   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

 In April demolition crews began removing the wooden dock, including its sixty-two year infrastructure

Wearing waders, the demolition crew removed materials in the murky water.

The old dock was carted away.  

The old dock, including its sixty-two year infrastructure were removed completely.

A crew unloaded the modular dock system which arrived in multiple sections.

Workers quickly began assembling it.

Smooth Sailing. A Boathouse rowboat concession employee helps a returning rowboats onto the new dock.  

Central Park Boat Rental Concessionaire Robbed At Knife-Point

A police officer at the Central Park Boathouse boat rental dock where a 16-year-old victim was robbed of his smartphone and the concession stand's tip jar.  The young victim was manning the food stand at the Loeb Boathouse when thieves — one them wielding a knife — emptied his pockets.  Police released the surveillance video hoping someone will be able to identify one of the suspects. (Photo: Sam Costanza /For New York Daily News)

Manhattan

Cops are searching for two young crooks who robbed a teenager manning a concession stand at the boathouse in Central Park, according to the Daily News.

The 16-year-old victim was working the food stand at the Loeb Boathouse on East 73nd St. when he was approached by the duo about 6 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.

One of the thieves pulled out a knife and threatened the worker while the other dug into the victim’s pocket and lifted his Galaxy S4 smartphone, police said. The thieves then took the concession stand’s tip jar and ran away, cops said.

One of the crooks was filmed by a security camera as he darted away from the scene. Police released the surveillance video to the media Wednesday night, hoping someone will be able to identify the suspect.

Police described him as black, aged 15-16, about 5-foot-7. He was wearing a turquoise T-shirt and dark jeans.

His accomplice, who was not captured on the surveillance footage, was described by police as black, aged 18 to 20, and about six feet. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants and a black du-rag, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers tipline at 800-577-TIPS.


Central Park Boathouse near where two young crooks robbed a teenager manning a boat rental concession stand.

Read More:

Two crooks rob teenager, 16, running boathouse concession stand in Central Park
New York Daily News - September 4, 2013 - By Mark Morales

Central Park Boathouse Restaurant Workers Charge Hostile Work Environment

"They treat us like animals in that place," said Alejandra Betancourt, a banquet waiter who is still employed there. "Many times, we work double shifts from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., but they don't even give us decent meals to eat or proper work breaks, or pay us all our overtime."

Ex-Boathouse Restaurant workers Francisco Labayen and Frankie Palaquachizo with recorders they used to secretly tape conversations at work they say prove hostile work environment. In 1993, a U.S. appellate court ruled that Poll illegally fired a waiter at one of his Long Island restaurants after he overheard the worker complaining about the poor tips he was receiving. (Photo: Branch Price for NY Daily News)

Manhattan

Employees at the iconic Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park have been secretly taping their bosses.

Fed up with their treatment by management, dozens of waiters and dishwashers have been reporting to work for the past year armed with miniature cassette recorders and have taped hundreds of workplace conversations, according to the New York Daily News.

"These tapes and transcripts provide irrefutable proof that the Boathouse Restaurant has repeatedly violated federal labor laws," said Peter Ward, president of Local 6 of the hotel and restaurant workers union.

Restaurant owner Dean Poll can be heard on several of the tapes warning his employees that if they vote for a union he "will go out of business."

A dozen workers claimed Thursday in interviews with the Daily News that supervisors routinely threatened and retaliated against them for trying to organize a union.

On Tuesday, Poll suddenly dismissed 16 workers - all supporters of the union campaign.

The restaurant normally employs about 100 people in the winter and up to 200 during the spring and summer.

"They told us we were terminated because they have a new policy of bringing in agency workers," said Francisco Labayen, a banquet waiter who regularly wore a wire to work.

Local 6 responded to those firings by formally petitioning for a union election Thursday to the National Labor Relations Board. Ward wants investigators from the federal agency to listen to the audiotapes for themselves and sanction Poll for a host of unfair labor practices.

The restaurant grosses more than $18 million annually. With it, Poll has a virtual monopoly on dining in the most famous park in America and also operates the boating and bicycle concession in the park.

He is a restaurant owner, however, with a history of labor problems.

Last year, he won a license from the Parks Department to take over the old Tavern on the Green restaurant, but the Bloomberg administration quickly revoked the license after Poll failed to reach a labor agreement with Local 6, which had represented the old Tavern on the Green workers. Ward now wants Donald Trump to take over Tavern on the Green.

A 2007 audit of the Boathouse operations by then-city Controller William Thompson found that Poll had underreported more than $2.3 million in revenues to the city over a two-year period.

During that time, the restaurant claimed more than $1.3 million in banquet tips as an expense, but could provide no proof that it actually passed those tips on to its employees.

In 1993, a U.S. appellate court ruled that Poll illegally fired a waiter at one of his Long Island restaurants after he overheard the worker complaining about the poor tips he was receiving.

Read More:

Angry employees at Central Park's Boathouse Restaurant secretly taping their bosses

New York Daily News - January 28, 2011 - By Juan Gonzalez

Controversial Loeb Boathouse Redesign In Central Park Is Withdrawn

A Walk In The Park - November 19, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

Mobile Food Trucks Now Occupy Former Tavern On the Green Site

A Walk In The Park - October 15, 2011

Tavern On The Green $ 86 Million Dollar Fallout

A Walk In The Park - June 14, 2010

Controversial Loeb Boathouse Redesign In Central Park Is Withdrawn

After numerous objections were made at the Design Commission hearing on Monday, plans to redesign a section of the Loeb Boathouse concession in Central Park, including the outside bar, ramp, railings, and deck, were withdrawn.

By Geoffrey Croft

A controversial redesign of Central Park's Loeb Boathouse was withdrawn on Monday, just weeks after the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission had approved it.

Critics derided the addition of a futuristic new bar, which looked a little like a spaceship, as being out of character with the scenic landmark park. The Design Commission agreed, and expressed surprise the plan had made it as far as them. After numerous objections were made at a hearing on Monday, boathouse operator Dean Poll withdrew the application which includes a redesign of the outside bar, a ramp, railings, and deck.

It's another setback for Poll this year, whose takeover of the Tavern on the Green folded when he was unable to reach a bargain with union workers. That landmark space now has four food trucks parked outside, an arrangement that's costing the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The president of the Design Commission, James P. Stuckey, recommended that the designers, Koutsomitis Architects PC, and Parks Department go back to the drawing board, according to the preservation group Landmark West! He requested the applicant return to them at staff level and begin the approval process again with three or four new approaches. Commissioners remarked that the design was alien to the environment of the boathouse; they objected to the bar having a beachy, Copacabana feel. Mr. Stuckey asked the applicant to think more about the appropriateness of the design.

Opened in 1954, the Loeb Boathouse fits within the English Romantic style of the public park designed by Olmsted and Vaux in 1856, the Design Commission noted. The plan for the redesign went before the Landmarks Preservation Commission on September 28, and in response to the commission's recommendations, and preservation activists, the architects made a number of mostly cosmetic changes: The bar's roof changed from glass to solid copper with two skylights cut out along the sides to allow light into the bar area. The inner gate and structural housing and columns were changed to a dark gray aluminum to blend into the park. The trellis along the outside of the roof above the seating area is now wood rather than aluminum. A major source of contention was the raising of the dock away from the lake. The new design added a wood step down to the water to better visually connect the dock seating area to the water rather than floating so far above it.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the changes at a subsequent meeting on October 12, over the objections of Landmark West! In testimony before the Design Commission at Monday's hearing, the preservation group said, "By modifying the materials selection—from aluminum to wood, from glass to copper—the reconstructed bar no longer competes with the Loeb Boathouse, nor does it falsely read as an extension thereof. Instead, it is distinctly separate and secondary. Yet for all their intentions, modified dressings do nothing if the design itself remains inappropriate. The bar’s design recalls, first, a suburban mall kiosk and, second, a beach-side rest station. But at no point a neo-Victorian pavilion befitting Central Park."

When reached about Monday's decision, Landmark West! expressed their appreciation. “Landmark West! is incredibly pleased that the Design Commission took a strong stand on this application, especially after it passed through a number of other stages of public review with far less criticism. This was a prime example of money and the desire to generate revenue -- not design integrity -- being the driving force behind park projects. What we get, of course, is an outrageous, flamboyant design that belongs anywhere but in a scenic landmark like Central Park. The Design Commission picked up on this precisely, and we think it’s terrific.”

Last month Community Board 8 also gave the plan a thumb's down. "We had a strong resolution against this, even people who normally wouldn't have cared voted against it," said a CB 8 board member who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It was too tall, bulky, too modern, wrong materials, colors. It's the wrong design for that location. Totally inappropriate. It was an obtrusive presence that called attention to itself."

When asked for comment regarding Monday's proceedings, a representative for Koutsomitis Architects PC said in an e-mail yesterday the firm was "not able to provide information on the project at this time." (The firm also declined to provide a rendering of the design) When reached by phone earlier, the representative said it was going back to the Design Commission "as soon as possible."

The outdoor terrace and bar at the Loeb Boathouse is a popular gathering place to have a drink and light food.

Notes from Monday's Design Commission meeting supplied by Landmark West!

• James Polshek, architect

• This is an historic occasion, as its the first time since the 1970s that I agree with LW!
• Agree that the existing bar is problematic, but the proposed teardrop shape is inappropriate and alien to the environment of the Boathouse
• Geometry of the boathouse works well, and should inspire new design
• (Alluding to LW! statement) The proposed bar has a beachy, Copacabana feel; hint of pergola to the design until things begin to curve, which creates a nautical, ship-like feel, like a barge that is waiting to float out to sea
• Too high (most perceptible when see height of bartender in rendering)
• Surprised that design as-is received so many approvals and made it as far as their Commission
• Believe an appropriate design would be orthogonal

Additional comments were made by Commissioners Signe Nielsen, landscape architect, and James Stuckey expressing agreement with Polshek and other points.

Testimony of LANDMARK WEST!

Certificate of Appropriateness Committee

Before the Design Commission

Loeb Boathouse, Central Park

November 15, 2010

LANDMARK WEST! is a not-for-profit community organization committed to the preservation of the architectural heritage of the Upper West Side.

The LANDMARK WEST! Certificate of Appropriateness design review committee wishes to comment on the application to reconstruct the bar pavilion, a shed and an adjacent site work at the Loeb Boathouse, within Central Park, an English Romantic style public park designed by Olmsted and Vaux in 1856, and designated a Scenic Landmark.

LANDMARK WEST! first reviewed this project on September 14, 2010, almost exactly two months ago. The design at that time could only be categorized as “‘Anywhere, USA’ goes for ‘downtown chic’”. An ultra-white color palette and selection of reflective finishes was totally antithetical to the ruse in urbe character—that is, imbuing the urban city with the rusticity of the country—that defines Central Park. In direct meetings with the applicant, and appearances before our local Manhattan Community Board 7 and before the Landmarks Preservation Commission, we urged the applicant to abandon this inappropriate treatment and to use, rather, dark tones and rustic materials to complement the Loeb Boathouse.

Designed by Stuart Constable in 1954, the Boathouse’s long and low silhouette and use of bricks and stone—rustic materials—harmonize with the surrounding environment. Satellite buildings added later, such as the bar in question, the ticket booth and a utilitarian shed, are constructed in dark tones and wood, to both blend into the larger context of the Boathouse and its surroundings, and not compete with the prominence of the Boathouse.

The design as presented today has evolved since that mid-September review. By modifying the materials selection—from aluminum to wood, from glass to copper—the reconstructed bar no longer competes with the Loeb Boathouse, nor does it falsely read as an extension thereof. Instead, it is distinctly separate and secondary. Yet for all their intentions, modified dressings do nothing if the design itself remains inappropriate. The bar’s design recalls, first, a suburban mall kiosk and, second, a beach-side rest station. But at no point a neo-Victorian pavilion befitting Central Park.

LANDMARK WEST! thanks the applicant for their serious consideration of both our committee’s comments as well as those of the LPC. We believe that the design of the reconstructed bar has been well-served by the public review process, but that the need for further design revision remains.

DPR Releases Limited Info On Awarding of New Tavern on the Green Concession

The DPR announced on Friday it had picked a concessionaire to run a new restaurant at the Tavern on the Green location in Central Park. Dean Poll of Loeb Boathouse fame will run the restaurant which had been in the Warner LeRoy family for more than three decades. Although the DPR released Poll's capital investment ($ 25 million) they however refused to disclose what his annual fee to the city to operate the establishment will be.

Mr. Poll and Loeb Boathouse were the subject of a lengthy 2007 audit by Comptroller Thompson which found they shortchanged the taxpayers $381,070 by under-reporting more than two million dollars in gross receipts. The report received front page coverage when it was released on March 28, 2007. The apparent shoddy bookkeeping did not play into the city's decision in awarding the concession to Poll nor did it prevent the Parks Commissioner from heaping praise upon him in the press release: "We are pleased to select Dean Poll as the new operator of this world-famous location in Central Park. He has done an outstanding job for eight years at the Loeb Boathouse... "

One curious note: According to Crain's, Mr. Poll has no investors but he said he had secured a bank loan to fund the work. Banks don't usually lend money to businesses who have license agreements with the city because they can be terminated at the discretion of the city, in this case, the Parks Commissioner.

No word on whether Poll paid back the city's taxpayers. Only NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo reminded the public of Poll's recent past in bilking the tax payers.

Read More:

Boathouse Operator to Run Tavern on the Green, and Changes Are Planned
New York Times - August 28, 2009

Gaining Entree: Boathouse Guy Takes Tavern
New York Post - September 2, 2009

City picks new Tavern on the Green leaseholder
Crains New York - August 28, 2009