Highbridge Park

NYC Parks Issues Request For Proposals For Ice Skating Rink At Highbridge Park

NYC Parks announces that a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) has been issued for the development, operation and management of a seasonal ice skating rink at Highbridge Park Pool, Solicitation # M37-5-IS-2015.

“From the recent reopening of the historic High Bridge to recently completed restorations at the Highbridge Park Recreation Center and Pool, Highbridge Park is emerging as an increasingly popular destination in Northern Manhattan with improved access for residents of the Bronx,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “A seasonal ice skating rink in the park’s pool area is the ideal way to encourage year-round use while providing a fun and healthy wintertime amenity. We are grateful to Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez for his advocacy of this project and his funding contribution which will allow us to upgrade the infrastructure needed for a successful concession.”

This RFP seeks proposals for the development, operation and management of a seasonal ice skating rink at Highbridge Park Pool in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Proposals for the concession must include a seasonal ice skating rink, skate rental and sharpening station, and temporary food service and/or up to three mobile food units. The concession may also include a warming tent, a pro shop, and a holiday market. City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez has allocated approximately $1.1 million to invest in infrastructure for the project, which Parks will use for an electrical upgrade in order to provide power to the ice rink equipment.

The Highbridge Park Pool was built in 1936 as one of 11 city pools constructed through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) and commissioned by then Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. In 2010, NYC Parks began a three-phase project in partnership with Parsons The New School for Design to reconstruct and upgrade parts of the facility. The project, completed in 2014, transformed the Highbridge Recreation Center from a 9-month afterschool facility to a year-round recreational destination for Washington Heights residents of all ages by constructing new, exterior changing and locker areas for the outdoor pool, while upgrading the indoor amenities of the recreation center. Then in 2015, NYC Parks partnered with the NYC Department of Design and Construction to restore and reopen the City’s oldest standing bridge – the High Bridge. The High Bridge restores a unique connection between two boroughs and provides communities with access to resources in both counties. Bronx residents are now able to walk directly to the Highbridge Pool and Recreation Center, while Manhattan residents gain access to the Harlem River waterfront. A seasonal ice skating rink at Highbridge Park will nicely complement these improvements and further establish the site as a year-round destination.

All proposals for this RFP must be submitted no later than Monday, September 14, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. Parks will hold a recommended meeting and site-tour on Friday, August 14, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. The meeting and site-tour will be held at the proposed concession site, which is located at Amsterdam Avenue and West 173rd Street in Manhattan. All interested parties considering responding to this RFP are encouraged to attend this recommended meeting and site tour.

Hard copies of the RFP can be obtained, through Monday, September 14, 2015, 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 through Monday, September 14, 2015, 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 Santiago Zindel, Project Manager, at (212) 360-3407 or at santiago.zindel@parks.nyc.gov.