City audit finds park concession operators reneged on building contracts

September 03, 2010 09:00AM

The operator of the Terrace on the Park catering hall in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the historic, T-shaped remnant of the 1964 World’s Fair, is coming under fire for failing to build promised new facilities on the site, according to the Daily News. In a new audit, city Controller John Liu says the operators were under contract to build a $345,000 garden restaurant but never did. He also slammed Flushing Meadows Ice Rink and the World’s Fair Marina Restaurant nearby for reneging on their obligations to make property improvements, like a $155,700 project that was supposed to create space for birthday parties and the ice rink and $3,257 in repairs at the restaurant. The audit is part of the city’s investigation into how the Department of Parks & Recreation enforces contracts with its concession operators. In these cases, the facility operators said the original plans weren’t scrapped altogether but were modified. The Terrace on the Park restaurant project, for example, turned into a snack bar instead. The birthday party spaces were turned into storage for rental ice skates, while locker room spaces were used for parties. [NYDN]

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flushing meadows-corona park

john liu

parks & recreation

terrace on the park