The de Blasio administration is planning to eliminate one of two ice skating rinks run by the Trump Organization in the northern part of Central Park, despite strong public opposition.
Over 4,000 people have signed a petition decrying a $150 million plan to refurbish Lasker Rink and Pool near W. 106th Street, saying that it will deprive local residents of much-needed recreation space.
The renovation will reduce the size of the rink area, leaving room for just one rink for skaters, and also make a public swimming pool operated by the city’s Parks Department smaller.
The Trump Organization’s 20-year concession to run the rink ends in 2021, before the project is scheduled to start. A Parks Department spokeswoman said her agency “continues to explore how the facility will be operated in the future.”
Reps for the Trump Organization did not return messages.
The space currently occupied by the larger rink and pool will be replaced with a nature trail, a stream, and splash pads.
“We’ve heard a lot about a stream but we don’t think that a stream is as important in the park as our hockey rinks. Thousands of kids have been playing hockey at Lasker over the years. Why should they stop now because of a stream?” asked 12-year-old Bronx resident Michaelangelo Windly.
Manhattan resident Susan Opotow also decried the plan.
“What the smaller pool will do is it will be longer lines, extremely crowded conditions for swimming. Nobody goes into a swimming pool expecting a subway car at rush hour. And for skating it decimates half the program,” said Opotow.
The city’s Design Commission delayed a vote on the project until March because there were not enough members present at Tuesday’s meeting for a quorum.
A spokeswoman for the Central Park Conservancy, which is funding $100 million of the plan, said the pool and rink are in dire need of an update.
“The failing, flood-prone facility needs to be completely replaced as it is beyond repair. The new facility is designed to provide the largest possible pool and rink given the constraints of the site, technical requirements and ecological concerns,” Conservancy Spokeswoman Stephanie Baez told The Post.
“Moreover, unlike the existing facility, the new facility will be open and accessible year-round, which will greatly improve the quality of life for residents that live near the Park’s north end,” Baez.
A Parks Dept. spokeswoman added, “The most important aspect of this transformative project will be our ability to create a place that provides the millions who visit, especially the surrounding community, with a world-class facility.”