The Bloomberg administration rejected a significantly higher bid for the license to operate Tavern on the Green, instead awarding the rights to an operator who failed to deliver, according to financial documents obtained by the Post through the Freedom of Information Law. Dean Poll, who operates the Central Park Boathouse cafe, won the rights with a $57.3 million bid and the promise to invest $25 million in renovations. But the restaurant's longtime operator—Jennifer LeRoy and the LeRoy family—agreed to pay the city $86 million in fees over the 20-year lease. It was by far the highest bid, but the Parks Department rejected it, and now the famous restaurant is going to be a visitors center and hot-dog stand for the foreseeable future. more ›

The NYC Parks Department selected a new operator for that touristy chestnut, Tavern on Green. By picking Dean Poll, who already runs the Central Park Boathouse, the Parks Department is kicking out the restaurant's current operator Jennifer LeRoy. The Post says Poll's bid (apparently offering to spend $25 million to restore the space) was better than LeRoy's and adds, "Although it had revenues of $36 million in 2008, Tavern paid just 3.5 percent of that amount in rent to the city following a generous contract originally signed by LeRoy's well-known dad, Warner, during the depths of a fiscal crisis in 1973." (Poll pays 16.5% to the Parks Dept. at the Boathouse.) Poll's lease is for 20 years and the NY Times reports that besides updating the plumbing and kitchen facilities, his "proposal calls for an outdoor cafe and bike racks. The Crystal Room, often used for weddings, will be reconceived as a conservatory-style dining space." Plus, there will be two entrances—one for banquet dining and the other for the restaurant and a new bar—in an effort to make it more welcoming to casual dining. Poll also said he wants to keep the union employees. more ›