City Picks Dean Poll to Run Tavern on the Green

Settling months of debate among local foodies, the Department of Parks & Recreation has finally chosen an operator for Tavern on the Green in Central Park. The announcement on Friday by parks commissioner Adrian Benepe revealed that the city agency plans to issue a 20-year license to Dean Poll, the man who runs the Boathouse in Central Park. Poll's winning bid—which beat out the restaurant's current manager, Jennifer LeRoy, and Seth Greenberg of Capitale and Espace—includes a $25 million capital investment, the incorporation of green technology, new landscaping to reveal more views of Sheep's Meadow, and an interior that will evoke changes made during a renovation in the 1950s. Poll's contract will begin when the current license expires on December 31, 2009.

The renovation project—to be conducted by Koutsomitis Architects—is planned to take place in phases, allowing the eatery to remain open. Although there is no estimate of when the facility will be complete, the parks department did offer some insight into the layout of the venue. The section currently known as the Crystal Room will be redesigned as a conservatory-style dining space, the Loewy Room will have leather banquettes and wood paneling, an outdoor café will occupy an area near West Drive, and the kitchen will get an upgrade.

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