(Getty Images)
(
)
The Donald wants to reopen The Tavern to make boatloads of Green again.
Real-estate mogul Donald Trump last night said he will ask the city to grant him the right to run the now-closed, landmark Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park — vowing to restore it to gustatory glory with a $20 million redevelopment investment.
Trump’s revelation came after he reached a deal yesterday with the union that represents Tavern’s former employees.
He said it would give the union a five-year contract and between 400 to 500 jobs at the city-owned building.
“It’s very important that Tavern on the Green be reopened, and I’m doing it really as a gift for the city and a gift for the park, and we’d make a truly beautiful building, more beautiful than it ever was in the past,” Trump told The Post.
“I could have it built and operating in a year.”
He added that he would also rebuild the eatery’s glittery Crystal Room, which the city ripped down last summer, and rehire workers who wanted their old jobs back. “All the city has to say is, ‘Go to it,’ ” Trump said.
Trump promised that if the city gives him a 20-year lease, he’d return Tavern to the ranks of the world’s top-earning eateries.
Jason Post, a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, said, “The city is not ready to announce any future plans for Tavern on the Green and has not had any discussions with possible restaurant operators.”
The Tavern, once the world’s highest-grossing restaurant, closed New Year’s Day 2010 after declaring bankruptcy.
The city later granted the current operator of the Central Park Boathouse, Dean Poll, the right to reopen and operate the restaurant. But Poll was unable to cut a required deal with the Hotel and Motel Trades Council union that represents former workers.
Trump then saw his opportunity at the Tavern — albeit one that his company had apparently already anticipated nearly two years ago.
The developer and the union, whose members already staff the Trump SoHo and Trump International hotels, said they opened talks six months ago.
“Once he called me and said, ‘I’d like to talk to you,’ I was extremely optimistic that we’d come to a deal,” said Peter Ward, president of the Hotel and Motel Trades Council. “We have a long and good history with him.”
Although Trump first approached the union on the idea last summer, he — or some other bright person in his organization — had the Tavern in his sights up to two years ago.
A check of GoDaddy.com, a company that sells Internet domain names, shows that “The Trump Organization,” which listed its address on Fifth Avenue, bought the rights to the name TrumpTavernontheGreen.com all the way back on Feb. 3, 2009 — 11 months before the Tavern shuttered its doors.
The registration was first reported this morning by Elliotsblog.com, a Web blog that reports on domain name investing, news and tips.
But last night, when asked if he would actually slap his name on the restaurant — as he has famously done with hotels, casinos and apartment buildings — The Donald chuckled and said, “It would be called Tavern on the Green. I don’t think every place needs to be called Trump.”