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Plan to Renovate Central Park Boathouse Up For Vote

By DNAinfo Staff on September 13, 2010 5:01pm

The Central Park Boathouse Restaurant.
The Central Park Boathouse Restaurant.
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Courtesy of the Central Park Boathouse

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — The owner of the Central Park Boathouse is looking to give the restaurant a makeover with a new glass-roofed bar that will give passersby a better view of the lake.

Boathouse owner Dean Poll said that after 20 years, the Boathouse's bar and patio area are in need of a serious face-lift.

"It's fixing what's out there that’s dilapidated," he said of the redesign.

Architect Nicholas Koutsomitis said the new bar would be open-aired, with a glass roof. It would also stand closer to the complex's main building so that it no longer blocks views of the lake from Park Drive or the path.

"The new experience will be truly a park experience," Koutsomitis promised. "It's more like a small pavilion structure rather than a shed."

The patio and dock would also be redesigned to make the area larger and wheelchair accessible, with a new planting space. The restaurant would not be affected by the changes and the overall seating capacity would remain the same, Koutsomitis said.

The plan will go before Community Board 7's Preservation Committee Monday night and will be considered by Midtown's Community Board 5 Thursday.

But visitors may not want to start making plans to visit the new bar just yet.

When Community Board 5's Landmarks Committee heard the proposal last week, members raised several concerns, including the fact that the proposed bar would jut an additional seven-and-a-half-feet into the lake, district manager Wally Rubin said.

The board has also asked Poll for additional details about seating and revenue sharing with the Parks Department and Central Park Conservancy,

"We need to get the answers first," Rubin said, adding that if the plan is approved, "either way — both ways — it will have caveats."