Trump, whose name is already affixed to two ice-skating rinks in Central Park, is considering buying the now defunct Tavern on the Green, and is in the final stages of acquiring the Friedsam Memorial Carousel located in the heart of Central Park on the 65th Street Transverse.
The deal would award Trump Carousel LLC a 10-year contract to renovate and operate the carousel. An annual investment of $250,000, climbing to $325,000 by the end of the contract, would be required.
The Department of Parks and Recreation reports that 250,000 visitors ride the carousel every year. At $1.25 a piece, that's only about a $60,000 profit to start—a drop in the billionaire's buckets of money. But, you can't put a price on a child's smile.
The city placed the care of the carousel in Trump's capable hands after maintenance issues could not be resolved with the previous operator in March 2010. Trump paid the city $7,500 a month on a temporary contract, according to NYC Park Advocates.
Trump-owned companies have already operated the Trump Wollman Rink in the southeast quadrant of the park, and the Trump Lasker Rink in the northeast end, since the 1980s.
Aside from a little blurp in Trump's administration of the rinks—in 2007, then-Comptroller William Thompson chided Trump for some minor disrepair and mismanagement—the tycoon has been known to successfully come to the rescue of failing Central Park attractions.
Trump revamped the Wollman Rink in the 1980s after failed attempts by the city to turn a profit on the building. Expecting to lose on the venture, he was surprised to make about $500,000 on the rink in its first year of operation, according to a 1987 New York Times article. He did it for the sheer joy of serving New Yorkers, and donated all profits to public works and charity.
The mogul has also had his sights set on Tavern on the Green since the famed restaurant on the west side of the park closed down last year and became the site of a tourist information center and cafeteria.
Once one of the world's top-grossing restaurants, Trump's interest in this iconic spot may not be quite as philanthropic as his stake in the other Central Park attractions. In January, he struck a deal with the Hotels and Motels Trade Council (NYHTC), to which the former Tavern on the Green employees belonged.
The city awarded Dean Poll with the bid to develop the restaurant’s location, but Poll could not strike a deal with the union. Trump struck a deal with the union, but has not yet won the bid from the city. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's response to an inquiry about the Trump bid posed by WCBS 880’s Rich Lamb was noncommittal.
“There [are] a lot of people who would presumably like to run Tavern on the Green. Tavern on the Green does not exist at the moment,” said the mayor.
John Turchiano of the NYHTC said, “We couldn't reach an agreement with Dean Poll after months,” but declined to comment further as to why. The NYHTC reports that Trump would pump $20 million of his own money into the site if he is awarded the bid.
