(Dan Brinzac)
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In an unprecedented move, the highest-paying concessionaire in the Parks Department is questioning the objectivity of Comptroller John Liu and refusing to allow his office to audit the operation, The Post has learned.
Dean Poll, who runs the supersuccessful Boathouse restaurant in Central Park, claims Liu’s auditors can’t be neutral because their boss participated in a huge protest sponsored by Local 6 of the hotel and restaurant workers’ union outside the eatery on April 21.
“Since he [Liu] has already criticized the Boathouse management publicly and has apparently already determined his findings concerning management’s record, the commencement of an audit by the comptroller clearly has the appearance of impropriety,” wrote Poll’s attorney Peter Raymond on June 14.
“The Boathouse acknowledges the right of the comptroller’s office to audit . . . However, the Boathouse believes that an independent auditor who has not made public statements critical of the subject of the audit should be retained.”
Liu’s office immediately accused Poll of engaging in a “shallow ploy” to duck scrutiny and vowed to proceed.
“A previous audit found the Boathouse shortchanged the city, so it’s not a surprise that they will now say anything to avoid a follow-up audit of their finances,” declared Liu spokesman Matt Sweeney.
The comptroller has the statutory right to audit any city agency or concessionaire, with subpoena power to back him up.
Poll could take his case to court or the city Conflicts of Interest Board.
The Boathouse paid the city $3,070,860 in fees last year, making it the most lucrative of some 400 concessions overseen by the Parks Department. The Parks Department said only, “We expect the comptroller conducts audits without bias.”
There’s little question that Liu’s sympathies are with Local 6, which has been at war with Poll since his deal to reopen Tavern on the Green fell apart when he couldn’t come to terms with the union.
The Boathouse is a non-union shop.
A month and a half after the rally, on June 6, Liu informed Poll he was being audited.
Liu aides said that the timing was coincidental and that several other audits of similar concessions were launched at the same time, which the Parks Department confirmed.
The Boathouse was last audited in 2007, when the Comptroller’s Office determined it had underreported revenues and owed the city $381,000. A settlement for $117,000 was reached after a resolution over whether tips should be counted as revenue.