Philly Takeover of Tavern on the Green Pisses Off NYC

Wow, didn't see this one coming. Some New Yorkers are pretty miffed that the Philly team of Jim Caiola and David Salama won the bid to take over Central Park's famous Tavern on the Green. On Saturday, The New York Post reported that Caiola's sister is married to Kevin Sheekey, the former Deputy Mayor of New York City, and are claiming that those family ties cinched the deal, as opposed to a worthy plan.

After the allegations, the New York Parks department released the scoring sheets for the proposals, which showed that Caiola and Salama's pitch was rated much higher than the other two local teams. Still, black and white on paper will never change the minds of those angry New Yorkers, and it's a good bet that a formal investigation will be requested before this is all said and done.

Caiola and Salama won't get the keys until next July, with the opening set for November of 2013.

· Tavern on the Green Deal Under Scrutiny [The Insider]
· All Tavern on the Green Coverage [~EPHI~]