A year after carousel operator New York One LLC abandoned the Queens Forest Park merry-go-round, claiming there wasn’t enough foot traffic, the Parks Department has terminated their contract to run the famed Central Park Carousel. They told the NY Post the operator has failed to maintain and clean the ride up to their standards. The company will be out by today, and they may not have anyone else to run it for another month.
The Post also reports the particulars of running the legendary amusement attraction – the ride costs $2 and takes in just under $200K a year. There’s a $7,500 concession fee the operator need to pay in order to run it. It’s not running when the temperature falls under 32 degrees. And one man, Sal Napolitano, has worked in various positions at the ride for 39 years; he says that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis once asked if she needed to pay to watch her children go ’round.
The original park carousel opened in 1871 and was powered by a blind mule and a horse who walked a treadmill in an underground pit. It almost immediately became one of the park’s most popular attractions and remains so to this day, with almost 250,000 riders a year. Originally the park commissioners had frowned upon commercial enterprises in the Park, but they eventually saw the popular attractions as valuable assets. They also recognized income that the city earned on the carousel’s operation as a welcome source of needed revenue.
The current carousel, the fourth to exist on this site, was built in 1951 thanks to a contribution by the Michael Firedsam Foundation. It was discovered after an exhaustive search by the Parks Department, abandoned in an old trolley terminal on Coney Island. One of the country’s largest merry-go-rounds, it features fifty-eight hand-carved, brightly caparisoned horses and two ornate chariots. Wonderful examples of folk art, they were made by Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein in 1908.
About Central Park
Find all the information you need to enjoy your visit to New York City’s iconic Central Park.
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Central Park features 843 acres filled with classic architecture, gorgeous statuary and up to date sports, educational and performance facilities. Besides all of this there is the world famous Central Park Zoo and Wildlife Center and the Children’s Zoo.
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From The Philharmonic on the Great Lawn to Shakespeare in the Park to SummerStage, Central Park offers an endless array of things to do, see, hear – and, with two full service restaurants and several cafes, taste. You can visit The Shakespeare Garden, take in a performance at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater, take a ride on the Carousel – or just sit and people watch at Bethesda Terrace!
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