Bryant Park Grill's future in doubt after judge's ruling boots iconic eatery in favor of famed chef
The nonprofit Bryant Park Corporation (BPC), which manages the park, is booting longtime Grill operator Ark Restaurants in favor of world-famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. But Ark owner Michael Weinstein says he won't vacate the glass-enclosed eatery and two small outdoor cafes despite their leases expiring this month, as he presses a court case seeking to overturn the decision.
Weinstein told The Post he has no intention of shutting down the Grill and its satellites as 'long as we're in litigation.'
3 Michael Weinstein, owner of the Bryant Park Grill, is suing several entities including Bryant Park Corporation, which is replacing the restaurant with an eatery from superstar chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Gabi Porter
Weinstein ran the Grill for 30 years. He's suing the park corporation, Vongerichten's management company Seaport Entertainment Group, the Parks Department which has the final say over an operator, and the New York Public Library, whose main building abuts the Grill's space and has an advisory say.
His state Supreme Court filing says the corporation's 'flawed' selection process was designed to choose Vongerichten from the outset and that BPC president Daniel Biederman sought to run the park as his 'personal domain.'
But in rejecting Ark's separate request for an injunction to block its ouster last week, Judge Anar Rathod Patel basically called Ark and Weinstein sore losers, saying, 'Mere dissatisfaction with a competitive outcome does not constitute bad faith.'
Following Patel's ruling, 'The park intends to exercise its right to proceed to an eviction' of Ark from the site, Biederman said.
Bryant Park Grill, at the park's eastern end, has 4,900 square feet indoors and nearly as much space on the roof for alfresco dining. It's one of the nation's highest-volume restaurants with $25 million in annual revenue.
3 The corporation believes Michelin-starred Vongerichten would bring greater prestige and greater revenue to the park over time.
Tamara Beckwith
The BPC issued a request for proposals to take over the leases for the Grill and the small cafes last year, in advance of their expirations this spring.
Eleven would-be operators submitted proposals. The corporation chose Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG) because it believes Michelin-starred, internationally famous Vongerichten would bring greater prestige and greater revenue to the park over time, even though SEG would pay less in rent at the outset than Ark was paying.
SEG's proposal 'presents the best combination of operating record, financial strength, and creative talent in the food and design field,' Biederman told Community Board 5.
3 Bryant Park Grill, at the park's eastern end, has 4,900 square feet indoors and nearly as much space on the roof for alfresco dining in warm weather.
Steve Cuozzo
According to Ark's court filing, Vongerichten's team might need to close the Grill for 10 months or longer for a redesign — to which the BPC would contribute $2 million, which Ark called 'improper' as it was not offered to any of the other applicants.
But no shutdown is imminent. Biederman told The Post, 'Weinstein is pulling a wide variety of legal moves to over-stay his lease, so he'll probably stay there for spring and maybe summer months.'
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8 hours ago
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Show Caption A member of the family for which the Kincaid House is named claimed her grandfather would be 'spinning in his grave,' if he knew the 164-year-old brick farmhouse in Fishers had been torn down. But Whitney Kincaid said she didn't disagree with the City o f Fishers' decision to demolish one of its oldest buildings. 'It was pretty beat up and in bad shape,' said Kincaid, who had posted a comment about Donald Kincaid's grave spinning on Facebook. 'But my grandfather put $70,000 into fixing it up in the 1990s when people were interested in buying it and preserving it. So that's sad.' The entire Kincaid family approved of the take-down, in fact, but that did little to quell outrage by some residents, who alleged that Fishers' elected officials are systematically erasing the city's history in the name of redevelopment. It's been a recurring charge each time older structures are destroyed to remake one of the oldest parts of Fishers — downtown, now called the Nickel Plate District. 'People are feeling like this is a pattern with structures of historical significance,' said Jocelyn Vare, a former Democratic city councilor and frequent critic of the administration. 'The city neglects it and then says it is too far gone to save. It is a pattern of devalue and destroy.' That sentiment was at full roar on social media after the suburb announced the building was being torn down because it was in disrepair beyond fixing and no person or organization had shown interest in rehabilitating it. 'Smell some premium luxury condos coming in the near future,' wrote one commenter under a Facebook story about the takedown that drew nearly 600 comments. 'Progress doesn't have to come at the cost of destroying historic landmarks!!!' said another under an IndyStar story with nearly 300 comments. 'This is monstrous,' bellowed yet another. Some long-time residents are still sore about the Nickel Plate railroad tracks being dismantled and converted to a rail-trail. Others lamented the tearing down of the old Nickel Plate Bar & Grill on 116th Street, now the site of Café Patachou Nickel Plate. Even an old grain silo near the former Nickel Plate train station raised a few hackles when it was demolished. Historical buildings still in Fishers The city tore down Kincaid House — which it described as a 'deconstruction' — on Aug. 2 and said it will use some of the clay bricks for a structure at the city-owned Fishers AgriPark. It was one of the five oldest buildings in Fishers. But despite allegations that suburb's history is being wiped away, the other four buildings are still standing — and in good shape. According to the Fishers Historical Society and other sources, they are: Conner House at Conner Prairie William Conner was a fur trader who served in the War of 1812 as guide, interpreter, spy and soldier. The house, built in 1823, was sold by his descendant in 1871 but was mostly neglected until 1934 when Eli Lilly bought it. Lilly restored the house and helped develop the surrounding area into Conner Prairie Farm, adding a loom house and trading post. The house remained a central site at Conner Prairie as it grew. Eller House, 7050 E. 116th St. The house was built in 1877 by Fernando Eller, a prominent farmer, Union soldier and musician. It is now a retail space. A restaurant once occupied the property but after it closed it sat vacant for seven years. In 1999, commercial real estate firm Revel & Underwood, bought the building and refurbished it. The Ambassador House, 10598 Eller Road Built near Allisonville Road and 96th Street in 1826, the house is now the Historic Ambassador House and Heritage Gardens. The ambassador to Austria-Hungary, Addison Harris, bought the property in 1880. The house, which was originally a cabin, was expanded in 1895. It was later moved from its original location at 96th Street and Allisonville. The Trittipo Building, 8698 E. 116th St. Built by Sam Trittipo in 1886, the house is now home to Penn & Beech Candles. It was renovated a few years ago by owner CRG Residential when the firm built the Nickel Plate Station mixed-use building behind it. It had previously been home to a State Farm office. CGR also saved a building constructed in 1913 immediately to the west at 8684 E. 116th St. The building now has a large mural on the side and was the former home of Fishers National Bank and Vardagen and Sure Shot Coffee. Keeping a piece of history Not everyone was bothered by the sudden public fondness for Kincaid House. 'If this building means so much to people, why hasn't anyone bought it ?' one Facebook user asked. Cathy Worrall, who has lived in Fishers for 39 years in one of its oldest subdivisions, Sunblest, said she understood the city's action. 'It was at the point of no return,' she said. 'I think the impression that people got was that someone somewhere was going to find a way to integrate it into the community. I don't know if the city did everything it could to save it, but it was at that point.' Whitney Kincaid, who works in the hospitality industry, said the house has been in bad shape before and has long been a target for vandals. 'When I was younger that was the place for teenagers to go, it was kind of a right of passage to break in because the rumor was that it was haunted,' she said. 'When I got to high school, I even did it.' She said psychics often call her grandfather with offers to cleanse the house of evil spirits, all for the low, low price of $199 per session. The house was in such bad shape in the early 1990s that her aunt fell through the floor to the basement while walking through it. 'I think she broke her ankle,' Kincaid said. After that mishap Donald Kincaid decided to repair the building, spending $90,000 on the floors, windows, and cleaning the bricks. He had hoped that a buyer or a museum would take an interest for the long-term. Donald Kincaid died in 2008. Ten years later the building was rescued but only temporarily. Fishers was Kincid House's most recent owner and helped save it from demolition in 2014. At the time, landowner Thompson Thrift planned to tear it down because a roundabout was being built at 106th Street near I-69, the previous location of the house. That alarmed preservationists, led by Nickel Pate Arts, who raised $115,000 to move the house a half mile north to a 2-acre plot donated by Navient. But in 2018, Navient sold the land to Knowledge Service which planned to build a headquarters there, and that meant the Kincaid House had to go. By that time Nickel Plate Arts had transferred the deed on the house to Fishers, which made plans to move it again to a roundabout on USA Parkway south of Ikea. But there were problems with the roundabout location such as underground utilities that would complicate the move. And when Knowledge Services changed its mind and decided to move elsewhere, it became moot, so Kincaid House stayed put. Upkeep of the house lagged, however, except for mowing the property and repairing damage done by vandals. Few buyers or even preservationists have made inquiries about it for the last several years. Fishers hasn't announced what it plans to do with the clay bricks that it said it would save for a project at AgriPark. On the Saturday that the house was torn down, Whitney Kincaid drove out to it, parked her car on the side of USA Parkway and approached the pile of rubble that was left in a large but neat pile. She took some pictures then, grabbed six loose bricks and a couple of huge chunks of bricks and hauled them to her car. They're sitting on her front porch now and Kincaid said she'll probably give a few away if anyone asks for one 'They crumble pretty easily, but it's nice to save a piece of family history,' she said.
