Tavern on the Green to Fade to Black

Tavern on the Green Fades to Black after New Years Eve until 13 Jan 2010
NY POST

It's going to be one hell of a wake!

Central Park's legendary Tavern on the Green will bid goodbye in style -- with a huge New Year's Eve party, including a fireworks display.

The doors will close at 4 a.m. and won't open again until Jan 13 -- but it won't be for dining.

Instead, everything from table settings to crystal chandeliers will be sold off to satisfy the Tavern's 450 creditors.

It may be as long as four years before the famed eatery reopens under new ownership.

But the last night will be one to remember.

It will "fulfill any New Year's fantasy," current owner Jennifer LeRoy promised.

That is, any New Yorker with $125 to $350 to spend on dining and dancing the night away.

For some, the celebration is "going to be emotional," said Gordon von Broock, the event planner billed as the last night's "co-host."

LeRoy was forced to file for bankruptcy in September. The new operator, Dean Poll, who already owns the Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park, will take control Feb. 1.

Shortly after winning the Parks Department bidding, Poll said it may take him up to four years to completely renovate the space.

LeRoy and New York City are involved in a lawsuit over who owns the name Tavern on the Green -- which can be licensed to other restaurants and is estimated to be worth $19 million.

Photo by SOURCE

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(212) 873-3200

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TAVERN ON THE 'MEAN'

By KATHIANNE BONIELLO
It was one bun in the oven that the Tavern on the Green just didn't want to serve.
Jamie Mora, a former assistant to Tavern owner Jennifer LeRoy, claims in a lawsuit that she was fired only days after telling her boss she was pregnant.
The suit couldn't come at a worse time for LeRoy, 30, who is waiting to hear from city officials whether her family will continue to operate the highly profitable Central Park restaurant.
The high-strung heiress hired Mora to handle her personal and business affairs in 2004 and to make herself "available to Ms. LeRoy 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout her tenure at Tavern," according to court papers.
Mora was fired without warning in October 2007, eight days after she told LeRoy of her pregnancy, according to the Aug. 3 Manhattan federal court filing.
She is seeking an unspecified amount of back pay along with damages.
LeRoy's eatery is a concession regulated by the city Parks Department. The LeRoys have been running Tavern since 1973, but the license expires Dec. 31.