Central Park Boathouse Shutters As City Keeps Looking For Operator

CENTRAL PARK, NY — A Central Park institution is no more, at least for now — the Loeb Boathouse restaurant closed down this weekend after financial struggles forced its operator to abandon the venue.

Saturday's closure came nearly four months after operator Dean Poll first revealed he would close the Boathouse, along with its connected boat rental station on the shore of The Lake, citing rising costs of labor and goods.

Reached by phone on Monday, Poll had harsh words for the city, whom he blames for rejecting a billonaire's offer to pay $6 million to renovate the Boathouse and keep Poll in charge.

"Frankly, I don’t think the city could give a goddamn," said Poll, also the owner of Gallagher's Steakhouse, who had run the Boathouse since 2000. He said the city had also rebuffed his plea to lower the Boathouse's monthly rent payment.

"The city could’ve avoided this easily," he said. "They chose to say no."

Months after putting out a call for a new operator, the Parks Department is still looking for someone to take over the famed space. A spokesperson told Patch that the agency hopes to "identify a new operator as quickly as possible during these next few months."

In the meantime, the future is uncertain for the Boathouse's 163 employees, whose union has said it will try to get them jobs in the Boathouse's successor business.

Juan Benavides, who has worked in the Boathouse's banquet department since 2005, is among the lucky few still employed there through Dec. 31, as the city honors a promise to let scheduled events continue through the end of the year.

"We’re saddened that the Boathouse is closing — many people are without jobs," he told Patch. "With the end of the year, the holidays coming up, it's going to be difficult for those people that are already without a job."

Poll touted his time at the helm of the Boathouse, saying he had turned it into a $20-million-a-year business compared to just $7 million when he first took over. (The city previously said the Boathouse made $13 million in gross receipts in 2021.)

But the venue is a "difficult and expensive" business to operate, he said, citing its location and seasonality.

The Boathouse received a combined $4,068,422 in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020 and 2021, public records show.

A city landmark, the Loeb Boathouse was built in 1952 on the Eastern shore of the park's 72nd Street Lake. The restaurant's main dining room famously faces the lake, with "accordion style glass windows" that fold back to create an open-air venue during the summer, according to a notice posted by the city in August as it sought a new operator.

Other elements include an indoor bar with a large stone fireplace, a snack bar, a "Lake Room" used for special events, restrooms both for customers and the public, and an enclosed courtyard.

Whoever takes it over will also control the popular rowboat rental kiosk just outside the Boathouse building.

The city has said it will study applicants' proposals based on plans for capital investment, improvement and designs, operating experience and financial capabilities, among other factors.

Related coverage:

• Boathouse Reborn: City Seeks New Operator For Central Park Venue
• City Rejected Billionaire Bid To 'Save' Central Park Boathouse: Report
  
• Central Park Boathouse To Close Permanently After Brief Reopening