The Forest Park Carousel. June 12, 2008. Photo © Rorrises via flickr
On Tuesday, the City’s Parks Department issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) to renovate, operate and maintain the antique carousels in Flushing Meadows Park and Forest Park in Queens for a 15-year term. It’s the fourth go-round for an RFP to run the Forest Park Carousel, which has been shuttered since September 2008, and the second for Flushing Meadows. Parks did not receive any proposals for their first two RFPs for the Forest Park ride, though there were responses to the most recent RFP in April, which also included the Flushing Meadows Carousel.
After the last RFP was issued in April, a Parks Department spokesman said there were no suitable proposals, according to Project Woodhaven, a local website that has been advocating for the reopening of their neighborhood carousel. Here’s a video they made on the occasion of the site tour in April 2011. Let’s hope the fourth time round is the charm for Forest Park!
The Forest Park ride was manufactured in Philadelphia in 1910 and is one of two Daniel Muller carousels still in operation. “In his dedication to reality, Muller would carve stitching holes in the saddles and insert heavy thread to give the illusion that real leather had been used,” writes William Manns in Painted Ponies: American Carousel Art. “”His Indian Ponies were adorned with lifelike feathers and his saddles and bridles sometimes were carved to resemble tooled leather.”
The Flushing Meadows Carousel has a Coney Island pedigree. It is the work of amusement ride inventor and manufacturer William F Mangels and developer of the “Coney Island style of carousel wood carving” Marcus C Illions. The ride is comprised of two Coney island carousels that were combined and brought to Queens for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. The frame, organ, chariots and 47 horses are from the Stubbman Carousel (1908) and 24 horses are from the Feltman Carousel (1903).
Flushing Meadows Carousel. May 9, 2009. Photo © agent j loves agent a via flickr
Close-up photos of some of Muller’s and Illions’ carvings may be viewed on the “Carousels: Queens” page of RoadsideArchitecture.com
How much can a concessionaire expect to make operating the two Queens carousels? In 2008, the Forest Park Carousel had gross receipts of $72,000. The guaranteed annual fee to Parks was $20,000 or 10 per cent of gross receipts. In previous years the annual fee ranged from $15,000 to $17,500. In 2010 – 2011, the Flushing Meadows Carousel had gross receipts of $160,554 for carousel rides, $76,824 for food sales, $37,205 for toy sales, and $1,036 for special events. The guaranteed annual fee to Parks was $80,000 or 10 per cent of gross receipts.
According to the current RFP, “In the last agreement, the fee paid to Parks was the higher of the minimum annual fee or percentage of gross receipts. However, in responding to this request for proposal, proposers should express their fee offer only as a flat fee, and not on a percentage of gross receipts.”
A busy day at the carousel in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, June 1968. Courtesy of the Parks Department Photo Archive
Here’s the hitch: the City requires a substantial investment from the operator, who is responsible for all costs associated with the renovation, operation, and maintenance of the antique rides and their pavilions. According to an article in last week’s Queens Chronicle, the cost of renovation work on the Forest Park Carousel adds up to about $150,000. But there is already one potential proposer: Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) recently met with the Parks Department and reps from Independence Residences Inc., an area nonprofit interested in operating the carousel, the paper reported.
Proposals for the current RFP, which may include the option to develop and operate a “family amusement venue” at Forest Park and “children’s amusement rides” and mobile food units and souvenir carts at Flushing Meadows Park are due on January 27, 2012. An on-site proposer meeting and site tour will be held at both locations on January 12th.
Last month the City’s Parks Department also issued an RFP to operate and maintain the restored B & B Carousell at Coney Island’s Steeplechase Plaza next to the landmark Parachute Jump. Proposals to operate the B & B are due on January 17, 2012. (Update: On December 30th, Parks sent out an addendum to provide a website where available plans may be downloaded and extended the deadline for the B & B to January 30th)
Forest Park Carousel Tiger. Courtesy of the Parks Department Photo Archive
Related posts on ATZ…
December 4, 2011: Brass Ring Dept: Coney Island “Carousell” RFP Up for Grabs
February 1, 2011: Bring Back the Whip! A Birthday Gift for William F Mangels
December 8, 2010: Children’s Book Tells Coney Island Carousel Carver’s Story
February 26, 2010: Made in Brooklyn: The World’s Only Jet-Powered Merry-Go-Round
Amusing the Zillion 
The Parks Dept. seems to be denying that they received any bids at all to operate both carousels, despite Sal Napolitano having submitted such a bid, even as he is wrapping up his expert stewardship over the Flushing Meadows carousel under the Makkos Organization (dba New York One LP). Sounds like typical Bloomberg administration politics favoring big operators that forced him & Makkos out of the Central Park carousel in favor of Donald Trump, which also reflects the manner in which the ongoing development plans for Coney Island have been handled.
The City had a dispute with New York One in the spring and according to the RFP their contract for the Flushing Meadows carousel expires in March 2012..
With three out of five carousels in New York City Parks up for grabs, there’s an opportunity here for somebody!
Thanks, Tricia. It’s clear that the bar for taking over operation – covering all renovation and operating costs – is, financially, set too high for the small operator. Still, this is encouraging – having the carousels run is the important thing!
John
If the City can’t afford to pay for renovation work on the carousels, it would be a good idea for a local park conservancy or other non-profit eligible for grants and donations to run them.. One example is the Carousel in Hartford’s Bushnell Park. It’s run by the New England Carousel Museum for the City and renovation costs of more than $100k have come from the Hartford Foundation. Some carousels have had successful Pennies for Ponies fundraising campaigns.