Posted on 02/21/2021 4:11:15 AM PST by Eleutheria5
The de Blasio administration is planning to eliminate one of two ice skating rinks run by the Trump Organization in the northern part of Central Park, despite strong public opposition.
Over 4,000 people have signed a petition decrying a $150 million plan to refurbish Lasker Rink and Pool near W. 106th Street, saying that it will deprive local residents of much-needed recreation space.
The renovation will reduce the size of the rink area, leaving room for just one rink for skaters, and also make a public swimming pool operated by the city’s Parks Department smaller.
The Trump Organization’s 20-year concession to run the rink ends in 2021, before the project is scheduled to start. A Parks Department spokeswoman said her agency “continues to explore how the facility will be operated in the future.”
future.”
Reps for the Trump Organization did not return messages.
The space currently occupied by the larger rink and pool will be replaced with a nature trail, a stream, and splash pads.
“We’ve heard a lot about a stream but we don’t think that a stream is as important in the park as our hockey rinks. Thousands of kids have been playing hockey at Lasker over the years. Why should they stop now because of a stream?” asked 12-year-old Bronx resident Michaelangelo Windly.
Manhattan resident Susan Opotow also decried the plan.
“What the smaller pool will do is it will be longer lines, extremely crowded conditions for swimming. Nobody goes into a swimming pool expecting a subway car at rush hour. And for skating it decimates half the program,” said Opotow.
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