The contract between the city and the nonprofit organization managing Central Park, one of the models we refer to in our suggestion to allow a nonprofit organization to manage the American River Parkway, was recently extended for eight more years, as noted on their website.
An excerpt.
Parks Department and Central Park Conservancy Renewed Historic Partnership for Another Eight Years
5-01-06
On April 28, 2006, the Central Park Conservancy and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation announced the eight-year renewal of the Central Park management agreement through June 30, 2013. The Conservancy is a private, not-for-profit organization, which since its inception has raised more than $325 million through private donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and transformed Central Park from its deteriorated state in the late 1970s to its present condition. Today, Central Park serves as a model for urban parks worldwide.
The new contract will maintain the City’s baseline allocation for the maintenance of the Park, but it will lift the cap on the amount of funding the Central Park Conservancy receives based on concession revenues generated in the Park. Under the previous contract, the Conservancy received an amount equal to 50% of concession revenues beyond the first $6 million generated in the Park, not to exceed $2 million. As more of the Park is restored and the cost of caring for it continues to grow, removing this cap will ensure that the Park will continue to benefit from increasing revenues that are directly related to its successful management. The contract was signed this afternoon by Commissioner Benepe and Central Park Conservancy President Blonsky. It will be submitted to the Office of the Comptroller for registration. Coincidentally, it was on this very day in 1858, that landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s "Greensward Plan" was chosen as the design for the future Central Park.
"The historic agreement between the City and the Conservancy was first signed in 1998. Since then, the Conservancy’s share of the costs of running Central Park has increased dramatically, as the Park has been restored and better managed." said Adrian Benepe, Parks & Recreation Commissioner." This new agreement ensures that the City will continue to share the responsibility, while providing an incentive for the Conservancy to continue its hard work."
"Through this successful partnership between the Department of Parks & Recreation and the Central Park Conservancy, we will continue to ensure the beauty of the Park, not only for the next eight years but for many generations to come," said Douglas Blonsky, Central Park Conservancy President. "Over the last 25 years we have transformed most of the Park’s landscapes, funded major capital improvements, created new educational programs, and set new standards in Park care."
Created in 1980, the Central Park Conservancy has developed and implemented a major management and restoration plan for the Park. The first eight-year management contract signed by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern with the City in 1998 was a significant event that recognized the Conservancy’s contribution to the remarkable turn-around of New York’s world-famous Park. The pioneering public-private partnership became a model for other organizations, including the Prospect Park Alliance, the Riverside Park Fund, and City Parks Foundation.
