Tavern on the Green was dead meat the day the city picked Dean Poll to replace Jennifer LeRoy.
City Hall wanted LeRoy out — not only for letting the place run down, but because it held a grudge against her family dating back decades. And Mayor Bloomberg is indebted to union Local 6, which favors his land-use plans.
Poll’s Boathouse Cafe is nonunion. He wanted to eliminate insane pay scales at Tavern and union work rules at Tavern that scared off most other wannabe operators. But Local 6 saw a chance to muscle Poll into unionizing the Boathouse in exchange for concessions at Tavern.
Neither side could win. With things at an impasse, Bloomberg pulled the plug on the talks — and the landmark might never reopen.
In the city’s frenzy to get rid of Jennifer, Parks took Poll’s word that he’d spend $25 million on improvements. After the city named Poll operator last year, it wouldn’t sign off on the license until he signed a contract with Local 6.
The city was apparently under no legal obligation to require a new Tavern operator to satisfy Local 6, but Bloomberg couldn’t afford to alienate the union. Poll found himself in a scrimmage with union chief Peter Ward he couldn’t win.
Bloomberg loves dining around, but Tavern was never in his orbit. He gave the job to aides in over their heads and kept his own head in the Central Park sand.