House about that!
Beloved Central Park boathouse to reopen
Central Park’s storied Loeb Boathouse is set to reopen this summer after it gets a pricey facelift.
Under an unfinalized deal with the city, the boathouse — which first opened in 1872 and was shuttered in October — will get a new operator, Legends Hospitality, which currently handles concessions at Yankee Stadium and the Intrepid.
Mayor Adams announced the plan Thursday, noting that not only would the restaurant reopen “bigger and better than ever,” but that it would also come with 200 union jobs.
“Everyone was focused. We had to get this opened,” Adams said outside the boathouse. “We could not allow this boathouse to remain closed because it would only give the appearance that this is not a city in recovery.”
The concession deal with Legends will last 10 years and is expected to get final approval in March by the city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee.
The boathouse, which has been featured in films like “When
Harry Met Sally” and “The Manchurian Candidate,” closed last October after its previous operator Dean Poll informed the city of rising labor costs and “costs of goods.”
Poll’s notice, which he delivered last July, led the city Parks Department to seek new proposals from vendors.
Under the new contract with the city, Legends intends
to commit $3.2 million in capital investments and $250,000 for structural maintenance improvements.
“We expect the boathouse to be among the best restaurants, event venues and overall destinations in this great city,” said Richard Porteus, Legends Hospitality regional vice president. “As a lifelong New Yorker, I’ve been here many times and can’t wait to restore this iconic property.”
When the restaurant closed last year, about 160 workers lost their jobs. Rich Maroko, president of the Hotel Trades Council, said the union’s members will come back with a contract in place.
“While everyone — visitors and residents alike — mourned the loss of this iconic venue, no one suffered more deeply than the workers who depended on it for their livelihood,” Maroko said. “We are one step closed to re-opening the boathouse and bringing these folks back to work.”
Adams, a former NYPD captain, at times took a lighter tone, joking at one point that the boathouse was a fixture in his dating life when he was a rookie cop.
“My rookie years, I didn’t have a lot of money, and nothing was more romantic than being able to rent a boat,” he said. “This was a great cheap date.”
Once the boathouse is up and running, Porteus said parkgoers would be able to book boats in advance, but he did not say how much they’d cost to rent come summer.