Forest Park

Parks Issues Request For Proposals To Renovate, Operate And Maintain Carousels At Forest And Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Parks & Recreation announces that a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) has again been issued for the renovation, operation, and maintenance of the carousel and snack bar and the optional development, operation and maintenance of a family amusement venue at Forest Park, Queens, and the renovation, operation, and maintenance of the carousel and operation of three mobile food units and two souvenir carts at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens.

“Taking the family on a carousel ride in a park is a treasured New York City experience,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “We hope to receive proposals from companies with strong backgrounds in developing, operating and maintaining carousels and amusement venues, so that the carousels at Forest Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park can continue to delight New Yorkers for many generations to come.”

The Forest Park Carousel holds some of the last surviving creations of master wood-carver Daniel Carl Muller. He crafted figures for twelve carousels in his lifetime; this carousel is one of only two that remain. The Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel is one of the City’s four vintage carousels, it is an example of the "Illions" style. The Flushing Meadows Corona Park Carousel is a combination of two earlier Coney Island carousels, the Feltman Carousel (ca. 1903) and the Stubbman Carousel (ca. 1908). The Flushing Meadows "hybrid" debuted at the 1964 World's Fair. Both carousels are much loved by the communities that surround them and are an important part of the childhoods of many people who have grown up in Queens.

All proposals for this RFP must be submitted no later than Friday, January 27, 2012 at 3:00 pm. Parks will hold two recommended proposer meetings on Thursday, January 12, 2012, one at each location. At 11:30 a.m., we will meet at the Forest Park location, which is located at the Woodhaven Boulevard entrance to the park. At 1:00 p.m., we will meet at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park location, which is located near the park’s entrance at 111th Street and 55th Avenue. All interested parties are urged to attend.

Hard copies of the RFP can be obtained, at no cost from Tuesday, December 13, 2011 through Friday, January 27, 2012, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, at the Revenue Division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which is located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 407, New York, NY 10065.

The RFP is also available for download from Tuesday, December 13, 2011 through Friday, January 27, 2012, on Parks’ website. To download the RFP, visit www.nyc.gov/parks/businessopportunities and, after logging in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFP’s description.

For more information or to request to receive a copy of the RFP by mail, prospective proposers may contact Evan George, Project Manager, at (212) 360-3495 or at evan.george@parks.nyc.gov.

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