WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The Parks Department is trying to revive interest in a plan to open a seasonal skating rink in Highbridge Park that has been on ice since last year.
In March 2014, the Parks Department released a request for proposals for the development and operation of an ice rink in Highbridge Park that would operate from October to March each year.
Despite a promised $1 million allocation by Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to upgrade the site’s infrastructure, the request for proposals did not generate much of a response, the Parks Department said.
The city is hoping that a new RFP, released on July 31, will renew interest in the project.
As with the original, the new request for proposals calls for the development of an ice rink with skate rental and sharpening facilities, as well as food services. Concessionaires are also free to propose a warming station and pro shop.
However, the new RFP will accept proposals to build a rink anywhere within the large pool area, as opposed to the original. The initial RFP required the operator to build the rink over the park’s wading pool, one of two pools at Highbridge Park.
A Parks Department spokesman said the purpose of the change was to offer potential operators more flexibility and creativity in terms of the layout of the rink.
In addition, the new proposal would allow the concessionaire to operate a holiday market similar to the one surrounding the Bryant Park ice skating rink.
The Parks Department “expects a high quality market, focusing on hand crafted items, art, unique gifts, and finely crafted jewelry," according to the new RFP.
The department has also reduced some of the requirements for public programming at the rink. Whereas the old plan called for a minimum of six hours per week of free youth clinics, the new RFP reduces that requirement to four hours per week.
In addition, the old RFP required the concessionaire to provide four hours per day of general skating time for the public. Under the new plan, that number is reduced to a minimum of two hours per day, with four hours per day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
The Parks Department is accepting proposals through September 14, with the hope of opening a rink at the site during the winter of 2016, a spokesman said.
The ice rink proposal is the latest in a series of improvements to Highbridge Park, including the re-opening of the High Bridge and the restoration of park's recreation center.
“A seasonal ice skating rink in the park’s pool area is the ideal way to encourage year-round use while providing a fun and healthy wintertime amenity," said Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver in a statement. "We are grateful to Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez for his advocacy of this project and his funding contribution which will allow us to upgrade the infrastructure needed for a successful concession.”
