The city has sued the operators of the bankrupt Tavern on the Green, claiming it has the sole right to use the storied restaurant’s name.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the city valued the trademark for the restaurant in Central Park at $19 million, making it the single largest asset in the bankruptcy estate.
New York is trying to stop the LeRoy family, which owns the Tavern on the Green name, from opening or operating other establishments under the same moniker.
The LeRoys have said they have owned the trademark since 1978.
Earlier this month, the operators sued the city, seeking more time to auction the restaurant’s assets. They have also argued that any new concessionaire could make much more money operating under the Tavern on the Green name.
Tavern on the Green filed for bankruptcy protection in September after the city granted a new lease for the property to another restaurateur. The current operators have held a lease since 1974. It expires Dec. 31.
Tucked just inside the park off Central Park West, the restaurant is in a Victorian Gothic building, erected in 1870 to be a sheep pen.