Monday, April 25, 2011
Administration ignores residents while installing plazas for tourists
A tale of two types of people - the ones who visit here vs. the ones who live here.
The people of Maspeth, Queens have been advocating for new parkland at the St. Saviour's site for more than 5 years now. Mayor Bloomberg has ignored their pleas but has been busy installing controversial pedestrian plazas in Manhattan - for tourists.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Alternatives To Brooklyn Bridge Park Housing Gaining Traction
"Brooklyn CB6 believes that until such time as the alternative sources of revenue (without housing), including those additional unstudied sources noted above, are sufficient to fund the operating costs of the park, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation and the City should fund the shortfall."-
Community Board 6 letter,
April 14, 2011.
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Phase One, July 11. 2010. The city still refuses to take responsibility for paying for the maintenance and operation of the park. Photo: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates (click on image to enlarge)
Brooklyn
Could the tide finally be turning for advocates fighting to prevent housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park? On Wednesday night the Mayor-appointed so-called Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to Brooklyn Bridge Park overwhelmingly approved a resolution to explore revenue alternatives to housing in the park.
During a meeting at Long Island College Hospital the committee voted 13-3 with one abstention, to encourage the consultant hired by the BBDC to "aggressively study potential revenue generating ideas" other than housing in the park and explore "expense reduction options."
The vote follows Community Board 2 and 6's similar motions over the last month against park housing and to study additional revenue sources to pay for the operation of park.
"Brooklyn CB6 believes that until such time as the alternative sources of revenue (without housing), including those additional unstudied sources noted above, are sufficient to fund the operating costs of the park, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation and the City should fund the shortfall, " CB 6 wrote to Bay Area Economics on April 14th. (full letter below.)
These turn of events are particularly significant also because the park's pro-housing operators have long claimed unsuccessfully that the citizenry of Brooklyn - those individuals that they had hand picked to be on the Committee - agreed that housing was the only solution to pay for the park's upkeep.
The Mayor and the park's operators failed to influence these critical motions. Opponents of housing believe this is further evidence that the people of Brooklyn do not want housing inside Brooklyn Bridge Park and that there are numerous alternatives to pay for park maintenance without private housing.
"This is a good day for parks throughout the nation if private housing does not go through in this test case in Brooklyn Bridge Park," said Judi Francis of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund.
Ellen Ryan, a park spokeswoman, told the NY Post, "copies of all submitted comments will be made available to the Committee on Alternatives to Housing, and the CAH, working with Bay Area Economics, will to decide how to respond to these comments after the comment period closes."
Opponents of housing in the park have demanded alternatives to explored including the Jehovah Witness properties adjacent to the park be utilized for tax revenue; that the city explore a Real Estate Investment fee (used to secure and protect open space in East Hampton) and that all concessions, including the River Cafe inside the park, contribute. Idea also include the combination of off site and on site parking, events and movie shoots can also go a long way to pay for the park without housing.
Critics have also long questioned the park's wildly inflated proposed $ 16 million dollar annual maintenance and operation budget which is seen as a transparent attempt to justify housing in the park. The park's 2009 Financial plan for instance includes a number of Capital expenditures such as maritime bulkhead and pile protection, vehicle replacements, and a capital reserve. Together these add up to more than $ 6 million annually, or roughly 40% of the proposed budget.
So far the City has refused to take responsibly to fund the park's annual upkeep.
"The City does not have the money to have new parks and fund them," Mayor Bloomberg famously said at the opening of Brooklyn Bridge Park on March 22, 2010. - Geoffrey Croft
Read More:
New York Post - The Brooklyn Blog - April 22, 2011 - By Rich Calder
Motion passed at April 20, 2011 CAC meeting at LICH:
Maker: Dorothy Siegel, BBPDF
Seconder: Richard Bashner, CB 6
The CAC endorses the positions taken by CB6 and CB2 that encourage the BAE to aggressively study potential revenue generating ideas and expense reduction options, including fundraising/sponsorship opportunities and options involving the Watchtower properties. In addition to the revenue sources mentioned in the CB2 and CB6 resolutions, the CAC urges BAE to consider other potential revenue sources including, but not limited to: a real estate transfer fee; enhanced revenues from parking (specifically, the police garage); alternative approaches to the PID; and potential revenues from the yacht marina. The CAC further urges BAE to provide a point by point analysis of the revenue generators covered in the 1997 Praedium Group study.
Community Board 6 Letter (Below)
April 14, 2011
Ron Golem, Principal
Bay Area Economics
121 West 27th Street, Suite 705
New York, New York 10001
Dear Mr. Golem:
I am writing to advise you that at its April 13, 2011 general meeting Brooklyn Community Board
6 resolved by a vote of 31 in favor, 2 against, with no abstentions, to support the submission of
the following statement as our testimony in response to Bay Area Economics’ (BAE) draft report
prepared for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation’s Committee for Alternatives to Housing
(CAH) entitled, “Study of Alternatives to Housing for the Funding of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Operations.”
Brooklyn Community Board 6 (CB6) truly appreciated the presentation to our Executive
Committee on April 11, 2011 by representatives of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, as it
gave us, and those in attendance, a much deeper understanding of the challenges and
opportunities related to the revenue potential for the park.
Brooklyn CB6 commends the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, the Committee on Alternatives
to Housing and BAE for finding many ways to pay for the park without the need for more
housing, in keeping with our long-standing position against housing inside this park.
The BAE draft report has already identified millions of dollars in potential revenue that has the
potential, at a minimum, to drastically reduce the need for housing revenue to sustain the
ongoing operations of the park.
Brooklyn CB6 believes that the CAH could go further than it has in identifying revenue.
Specifically, as originally proposed, BAE should analyze the potential revenue opportunities
involving the currently tax-exempt Watchtower Society properties. We call on the CAH to
reconsider its finding that this revenue source does not meet the study threshold parameters and
to consider a fuller range of other revenue opportunities relating to these properties.
Brooklyn CB6 believes that the CAH should also reconsider and study further the fundraising
and sponsorship opportunities for alternative funding, since they have both been proven,
effective strategies for other major urban park-centered organizations like the Prospect Park
Alliance and the Central Park Conservancy.
Brooklyn CB6 also believes that the CAH should investigate design and/or engineering changes,
working within the parameters of the approved General Project Plan, which could substantially
reduce operating expenses. As with the Watchtower properties, we call on the CAH to
reconsider its finding that exploring those opportunities for expense reduction does not meet the
study threshold parameters.
Lastly, Brooklyn CB6 believes that until such time as the alternative sources of revenue (without
housing), including those additional unstudied sources noted above, are sufficient to fund the
operating costs of the park, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation and the City should fund the
shortfall. Such a subsidy would be particularly justified by the fact that this unique location’s
characteristics have already contributed to a vibrant synergy between the park, its surrounding
neighborhoods, the waterfront and New York Harbor. Brooklyn CB6 strongly believes that this
park will eventually become one of the City’s premier destinations, and therefore merits such
support.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Daniel M. Kummer
Chairperson
cc: Hon. Michael Bloomberg
Hon. Marty Markowitz
Hon. Daniel Squadron
Hon. Joan Millman
Hon. Steven Levin
Hon. Brad Lander
Robert K. Steel, Chairperson, BBPC
Regina Myer, President, BBPC
John Dew, Chairperson, Brooklyn CB2
Central Park Boathouse Restaurant Accused Of Mistreating Workers
"Keep Our Park Clean, Dump Dirty Dean." Hundreds rallied in Central Park on Thursday to protest Parks Department concessionaire Dean Poll's treatment of workers at the
Loeb Memorial Boathouse restaurant.
Workers claim they have been fired
illegally
from the famed eatery. The workers h
ave been trying to unionize for a year. The city’s contract with Mr. Poll extends until Dec. 31, 2021. A bevy of elected officials came out in support of the pro-union rally. Photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates (Click on images to enlarge)Last year Mayor Bloomberg rejected a proposal by former Tavern owner Jennifer LeRoy - whose family had operated the iconic eatery since 1974 - that promised $30 million more than Dean Poll who was awarded the new concession.
So far the Mayor's decision has cost the city millions in lost revenue. The Bloomberg administration was finally forced to revoke the license after Poll failed to reach a labor agreement with Local 6, which had represented the old Tavern on the Green workers.
Mr. Poll was awarded the new Tavern On The Green Contract despite a 2007 audit of the Boathouse operations by then-city Controller William Thompson that found Poll had underreported more than $2.3 million in revenues to the city over a two-year period.
At a March 31, 2011 City Council hearing, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe alluded that the reason Tavern On The Green and other restaurants closed was due to the Unions. This came after pointed questioning from Parks Committee Chairperson Melissa Mark-Viverto who did not share Mr. Benepe's assessments.
Manhattan
Workers who claim they were illegally fired from the Loeb Memorial Boathouse restaurant in Central Park publicly aired their grievances at a union rally adjacent to the restaurant on Thursday, backed up by a chorus of pro-union City Council members and union officials, according to Crain's.
So far, though, the popular concession’s landlord–the city's Department of Parks and Recreation— has stayed largely out of the fray.
The Parks Department responded Friday to repeated requests for comment with a written statement.
“The city is not party to this disagreement which is between a labor union and a restaurant operator with a concession to operate at Central Park,” read the statement. “The concessionaire has met all of his obligations to the city under the agreement.”
The rally was the latest turn of events in an intensifying dispute. The New York Hotel Trades Council is representing the group of workers, who said the concession’s operator, Dean Poll, and his managers systematically mistreated workers on the basis of race and sex, stole tips from servers, and improperly fired 14 banquet employees when they attempted to join the Local 6 union chapter in January of this year.
Sign of the Times. A member of The New York Hotel Trades Council at the rally.
Yasser Nijim, one of the fired employees attending the rally on Thursday, said he worked at the Boathouse for three years, mostly full-time. He said when he and many other employees joined the Local 6 union committee in June of 2010, “management started bribing us.”
“They gave us a raise. They offered us health insurance that we couldn’t afford,” said Mr. Nijim. When he persisted in advocating for the union, he said, his hours were changed drastically. “We’d leave at three in the morning, come back at eight in the morning–that kind of thing,” he said.
Finally, in January, he was terminated along with 13 other union supporters. “It was because we supported the union,” said Mr. Nijim.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, widely considered to be a likely candidate for mayor in 2012, said she was “incredibly concerned and outraged” over the employee reports.
“Operating a business in Central Park is not a right, it’s a privilege,” she said. “The thing about a privilege is that it can be given, and it can be taken away.”
David Weissman, legal counsel for the Boathouse, disputes the charges.
"Boathouse Management has investigated these claims and found that there is no basis for any of them," Mr. Weissman said via email Friday. He said allegations of union-busting were “untrue” and that claims of racial and sexual harassment were “totally false.”
The union has filed several complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB said through a spokeswoman Friday that the complaints were “under review.”
City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents the district the Boathouse is located in and also chairs the City Council Parks and Recreation Committee, called on the Parks Department to do more to pressure Mr. Poll to comply with his contract. She said she “wasn’t really pleased with the response of the [Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe] so far.”
“I interpreted his response as a little dismissive,” she said. “I would hope that we’d have a strong partnership with the Parks Department and this administration on these concessions.”
Mr. Weissman said Mr. Poll was in “constant contact” with the Parks Department.
“Not one of the elected officials who spoke out at yesterday’s rally has ever inquired as to any of these claims,” said Mr. Weisman. “The Boathouse welcomes the opportunity to speak with them about any concerns they might have.”
According to the Parks Department website, the city’s contract with Mr. Poll extends until Dec. 31, 2021.
NYPD officers in front of the Boathouse restaurant in Central Park keep a watchful eye towards the rally. A heavy police presents was in force in the vicinity of the restaurant.
Read More:
Crain's - April 22, 2011 - By Benjamin J. Spencer
NY 1 - April 21, 2011
A Walk In The Park - January 28, 2011
A Walk In The Park - November 19, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft
A Walk In The Park - October 15, 2011
A Walk In The Park - June 14, 2010
A Walk In The Park - August 29, 2009
Friday, April 15, 2011
Parks Carousel Concessionaire Ripped Off City - Audit
"The Parks Department needs to monitor the company to ensure taxpayers are getting their due or find someone who is up to the job.” - City Comptroller John C. Liu.
The Parks Department's concession and revenue division is run by Mayor Bloomberg friend Betsy Smith.
Central Park Carousel was one of three Parks Department concessions run by New York One - owned by the conversional Makkos brothers - which City Comptroller accused of numerous violations.
Manhattan/Queens
The Parks Department's monitoring of its concession contracts has once come under fire by a City Comptroller. Yesterday John C. Liu released an audit that found a company that ran three Parks Department carousels overcharged customers, maintained little or no records of its cash transactions, and violated health codes. According to the audit New York One, LL Vendor operated off the books, and owes the City $454, 325, for Repairs and Maintenance.
According to the audit, the vendor, New York One, was required to pay the City whichever was higher — either a flat fee or a percentage of its sales. Without fail, the company reported the flat fee was the higher amount. But the company kept such poor sales records that it was impossible to determine if it paid the City what it owed in 2008 and 2009. Auditors could not find any evidence to back New York One’s claims of its cash revenue from rides, hot dogs, and souvenirs.
The Central Park carousel contract was cancelled by the Parks Department and taken over by Donald Trump. Forest Park has been closed since 2008. Last week the City took the unusual step of issuing an RFP for the carousel in Flushing Meadows Corona Park whose current license agreement is not set to expire until March 30, 2012. New York One is owned by the conversional Makkos brothers who run multiple Parks Department food concessions.
The Parks Department's concession and revenue division is run by Mayor Bloomberg friend Betsy Smith.
– Geoffrey Croft
Additional financial issues
- Auditors found the operator owes the City $454,325 for restoration and repairs that were not made at the Central Park and Forest Park carousels.
- Auditors found the operator underreported its take from special events at the Central Park carousel by at least $58,424.
- Auditors found the operator charged more than Parks Department guidelines for admissions, food, and souvenirs at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park carousel.
- Auditors found the operator should spend $110,000 on capital improvements at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park carousel.
- Auditors found that the Parks Department failed to collect up to $151,375 in operating fees from New York One when the vendor ran the Central Park carousel without a contract from January to September 2008.
Health issues
- Auditors found that the operator’s employees built a makeshift toilet in the Central Park carousel’s mechanical room using buckets and a funnel.
- Auditors found that the operator did not maintain the three carousels’ pushcarts, snack bars, and surrounding areas in a safe and sanitary manner.
- Auditors found that the operator continued to use a dirty popcorn machine and hot dog roller at the Central Park carousel despite a Parks Department order to halt sales.
- Auditors found that the operator’s food carts at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park carousel were not properly licensed by the Department of Health.
The audit determined that the Parks Department failed to properly monitor the carousel operator or promptly use the tools at its disposal to enforce the terms and conditions of the contracts.
New York One currently runs only the Flushing Meadows Corona Park carousel. The Parks Department cut short the company’s contract to operate the Central Park carousel in February 2010 when it failed to improve its operations. The Forest Park carousel has been closed since the operator gave up its contract in 2009.
According to the Annual Concession Report of the City Chief Procurement Officer September 2010, New York One and its related entities operated 25 concessions for which the City received gross revenues of approximately $5 million in fiscal year 2010.
The Parks Department agreed with the majority of the audit finding and recommendations. New York One disagreed with most of the audit findings, but agreed with most of its recommendations to get proper licenses and maintain records.
Comptroller Liu credited Deputy Comptroller for Audit H. Tina Kim and the Audit Bureau for presenting the findings. The full report is available at http://comptroller.nyc.gov/audits.
###
Audit Report on the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Monitoring of and New York One’s Compliance with Its Contracts Covering City Carousels
FK10-108A
April 14, 2011
April 14, 2011
AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF
Download the Complete Report (pdf 722 KB)
View press release
View press release
New York One, LLC was authorized to manage and operate pushcarts or a snack bar and carousels in Central Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and Forest Park under separate multiple-year agreements with the Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks). Under the terms of these agreements, New York One was required to: pay the higher of a percentage of gross receipts or a minimum fee; submit monthly certified, properly segregated statements of gross receipts to Parks; maintain specified sales records in a form suitable for audit; and retain these records for at least six years and make them available to the Office of the Comptroller and Parks on demand.
Additionally, the agreements stipulated that New York One perform specified capital improvements, sell only authorized items at Parks-approved prices, and maintain pushcarts or snack bars, restrooms, and surrounding areas. New York One was also required to obey all relevant laws and regulations, obtain all necessary permits and licenses, maintain certain types and amounts of insurance coverage, submit and maintain security deposits with the City, and pay utility charges.
Audit Findings and Conclusions
New York One lacked sales records and sound and effective internal controls over the collecting, recording, and reporting of revenues generated for its carousel operations. New York One did not provide us any admission, food, souvenir, and special events sales records for the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel and provided us only limited records for the Forest Park Carousel. As a result, we could not determine whether New York One accurately and completely reported gross receipts and properly calculated fees due the City for the Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Forest Park Carousels.
Additionally, New York One sales reports for Central Park Carousel admissions, food, and souvenirs were not supported by detailed sales transaction and inventory records. Therefore, we could not determine the total gross receipts or the corresponding total payments due the City for these activities. New York One provided us special events sales records. However, we could not determine whether these records accurately and completely reflected special events sales. Nevertheless, we calculated minimum special events gross receipts based on agreements, credit card slips and merchant statements, and related records. For the period October 2008 to December 2009, we determined that, at minimum, New York One understated special events gross receipts by $58,424 or approximately 141 percent. Consequently, we have serious concerns about the accuracy of New York One’s reported gross receipts for its carousels’ operations and thus, New York One’s payments to Parks.
The audit also revealed that New York One failed to comply with other agreement provisions. For example, New York One did not perform capital improvements, repairs, and maintenance with an estimated value of $564,325; submit required security deposits totaling $100,000; and maintain pushcarts, snack bars, and surrounding areas in a sanitary and safe manner. New York One largely did not comply with or fulfill its contractual obligations, and Parks failed to adequately monitor several critical areas of New York One’s performance and failed to use all tools available to enforce in a timely manner the terms and conditions of its agreement, as required by the New York City Charter, Chapter 14, §365.
Additionally, Parks largely failed to charge and collect fees from New York One for revenues generated from Central Park Carousel admissions, food, souvenir, and special events sales from January through September 2008. The initial Parks contract with New York One for the Central Park Carousel expired on December 31, 2007. However, Parks did not enter into a new contract with New York One until August 20, 2008, and did not consistently charge it fees until October 1, 2008. Consequently, we estimate that Parks did not collect minimum concession revenues of between $124,375 and $151,375.
Parks also failed to incorporate minimum capital expenditures tendered in New York One’s proposals to operate the Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Forest Park Carousels in executed agreements in accordance with the Rules of the City of New York Title 12 § 1-13.
Audit Recommendations
To address these issues, we make 22 recommendations to New York One. As New York One’s agreements for the Central Park and Forest Park Carousels have either expired or were terminated, we generally address our recommendations solely to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel, still under an existing agreement. These recommendations include that New York One should:
- Record separately admission, food, and souvenir sales activities on cash registers or other income-recording devices.
- Issue and maintain copies of pre-numbered, sequential special events agreements and gift certificates.
- Retain all records for at least six years and make them available to the Office of the Comptroller and Parks on demand.
- Accurately and completely report gross receipts generated from all operations in accordance with its agreement.
- Perform all stipulated capital improvements and expend at least $110,000 as proposed.
- Immediately remit and maintain its security deposit of $20,000.
- Properly maintain pushcarts and surrounding areas.
With regard to the Central Park and Forest Park Carousels, we recommend only that New York one should immediately remit capital investments of $454,325 to the City as additional fees.
Additionally, we make 17 recommendations to Parks. With regard to its concession properties, Parks should:
- Charge and collect fees from all entities operating concessions.
- Contract with all entities operating concessions and do so in a timely manner.
- Ensure that agreements are consistent with winning proposals and incorporate all material proposal terms.
With regard to New York One’s overall performance for the Central Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and Forest Park Carousels, Parks should:
- Consider issues identified by Parks and the Comptroller if and when New York One submits proposals to operate concessions on City-owned properties.
- Issue Notices to Cure, assess liquidated damages when permissible, and follow up on noncompliance.
- Complete Performance Evaluations and issue Advices of Caution in VENDEX.
With regard to the Central Park and Forest Park Carousels, Parks should:
- Seek legal remedies for New York One’s default on its capital investment commitments totaling $454,325.
With regard to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel, we made recommendations to Parks, including that it should:
- Ensure that New York One maintains sales records at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel in a form suitable for audit and retain sales records for at least six years.
- Ensure that New York One completes and submits the necessary documentation of capital improvements performed at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel.
- Immediately require New York One to submit a security deposit of $20,000, as stipulated in its agreement.
- Refer health and sanitation issues to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Responses
New York One generally refuted the audit findings and maintained that it provided sales records, performed required capital improvements, and complied with and fulfilled other contractual obligations. Nevertheless, New York One generally agreed to implement the audit recommendations with the exception of remitting the value of required capital improvements to the City as additional fees.
With the exception of findings and recommendations related to capital improvements, Parks generally agreed with the audits findings and recommendations, and directed New York One to implement recommendations addressed to it.
http://comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/audit/audits_2011/04-14-11_FK10-108A.SHTM
Read More:
New York Daily News - April 15, 2011 - By Adam Lisberg
DNA info - April 15, 2011
New York Post - April 16, 2011 - By David Seifman
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