Liu Says City Lost $8.8M by Failing to Secure Food Vendors for Parks

A slow effort to secure contracts for food vendors on park lands has cost the city millions in lost revenue, according to a report by Comptroller John Liu’s office.

The Department of Parks and Recreation could have collected as much as $8.8 million across the city in revenue, according to the comptroller's report. Most of the money was lost in Manhattan, but Queens came in second in revenue lost at $728,358.

According to the comptroller's office, the Parks Department submitted a 10-page objection to the report.

"Regarding the comptroller’s audit on Parks’ controls over the awarding of concessions, we disagree fundamentally with its process and analysis and we believe it is inaccurate and misleading in its conclusions," a statement from the Parks Department said. "We disagree with the conclusions of this audit, especially its inclusion of what the comptroller calls 'foregone revenue.'"

Much of that money could have been earned right in northeast Queens, according to the report. Here’s the breakdown of how much in concession funds were lost at local parks:

• $379,167 in lost concessions from Clearview Café, located at 201-10 Cross Island Parkway 
• $4,499 from concessions at Crocheron Park
• $1,240 from concessions at Little Bay Park
• Another $1,031 near Crocheron Park
• $250 from Marie Curie Park concessions
• $119,667 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park's ice skating rink
• $10,977 near the Unisphere at Flushing Meadows
• $17,100 at Cunningham Park

In the report, Liu makes 22 recommendations, such as tracking the solicitation and award process to ensure that it moves along in a timely manner as well as making and retaining approved written determinations to reject bids that detail why an award is not in the city's best interest.