Mayor Eric Adams is making a major move before leaving City Hall: locking in Related Companies to run Wollman Rink for the next two decades.
Wollman Park Partners II, an affiliate of Related, was selected to take over the concession, beating out the Trump Organization and a bid from the Central Park Conservancy, according to a Parks Department announcement reported by The City. The deal includes $10.9 million in upgrades to the rink and $91 million in concession fees over the 20-year term.
The nonprofit Conservancy pushed a competing offer to donate $120 million and operate the rink, promising a broader reimagining of the park’s southeast corner.
Betsy Smith, the group’s president, blasted the city’s decision to maintain “an island of for-profit commerce in the middle of Central Park” rather than accept a plan that would have added bathrooms, fixed accessibility issues and created year-round cultural programming.
Instead, Related will remain in control of the site it was first tapped to manage in 2021, when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio yanked the Trump Organization’s contract after the Jan. 6 riot; Trump bid again for control this time around.
Related pledged to install a new ice-making system, upgrade mechanical infrastructure and improve stormwater management. A Parks spokesperson said the work wouldn’t disrupt operations.
The timing was key: Parks rushed to get the deal before the Franchise Concession Review Committee’s Oct. 16 meeting, ensuring Adams could finalize it before stepping down in December after ending his re-election bid. Had the administration missed that window, the decision would have fallen to his successor. The committee still needs to approve Related’s bid.
The move extends Related’s footprint in city-backed projects. In June, Adams announced a deal with the developer to build 4,000 apartments, including 764 permanently affordable units, over the Hudson Yards rail yard, a project buoyed by $2 billion in public funds.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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