Shopping, not skating could come to unused site of rink

The site of the shuttered Van Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink could see new life in the coming months.

Local elected officials are calling on the Department of Parks and Recreation to establish a weekend holiday market at the site of the rink, which shut down after just two years in operation.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and other politicians recently wrote Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver describing a holiday market as a pleasant amenity that could boost business along Broadway.

“Our community cannot abide the desolate, empty lot that has been left in the wake of this closure,” the letter read.

It pointed to the holiday market at Bryant Park in Manhattan as an example of what could come to the area, instead. 

“The existing space at Van Cortlandt Park is a perfect location for such a market,” said the letter, signed by Councilman Andrew Cohen, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and state Sen. Jeff Klein along with Mr. Diaz. “The park is a well-known regional attraction and is easily accessible from all points, given its location to public transportation serving the Northwest Bronx and Westchester.”

The Parks Department indicated a holiday market would be feasible for the area.

“While NYC Parks does not directly operate holiday markets, we would be willing to engage in any discussions with potential operators interested in providing this amenity to the public,” spokesman Mario Lopez said in a statement.

The site of the proposed holiday market, located along Broadway near the 242nd Street subway stop, has a dubious legacy. After a heated debate among local officials on whether or not to establish an ice rink, the last skate left its surface in the winter of 2013-2014. Last year, a Parks spokesman explained that the for-profit concessionaire, Ice Rink Events, had operated at a loss of $600,000 during the rink’s two years in operation.

While the Sept. 9 letter said, “the long-term future of this site may be another ice rink,” Mr. Dinowitz doubted that an ice rink will ever come back.