Both DNA INFO and New York News Grio have reported that plans for an uptown skating rink in Highbridge Park at the swimming pool during the winter season have been dropped after a failure to get interest from businesses to develop, operate and manage it with financial support from the Parks & Rec Department. The project would have put the skating rink above the wading pool on Amsterdam Ave. at 173rd St. and would have included three mobile food outlets, a warming tent and a shop.
At the Community Board 12 meeting on Tuesday it was revealed that there were no bids on the second request for proposals put out by the Parks & Rec Department. Parks & Rec had allocated $1.3 million for the project.
This was the second request for proposals and they made extensive outreach to potential ice skating concessionaires and adjusted the language of the first request for proposals to make it more appealing, allowing for more flexibility and creativity with regards to the layout of the ice rink, including allowing the rink operator to use more of the locker rooms, run a holiday market and sell alcoholic beverages for special events provided they obtain a license for it.
Now that the ice rink idea has been dropped, they are requesting that the community send thoughts about what to do with the funds that had been allocated for the project.
Let's take this opportunity to do something even better for the park. I can think of some real easy ways to spend that money. They could improve the access from Amsterdam Ave. to the High Bridge instead of those steep stairs. It could be a serpentine like ramp going down that hill that would allow both pedestrians and bicyclists to go up and down without having to go 10 blocks south and then back. I'm sure that there are plenty of other projects that could put the park on a better footing. How about spending more money to groom the areas near the trails so that the poison ivy and debris is removed? Let's hear some more ideas.
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