This week, Central Park Conservancy’s CEO, Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, found herself at odds with the operator of Wollman Rink after boasting to her board about an op-ed she penned. Her piece criticized both the city and the firm involved, seemingly overlooking that Related Companies, the firm in question, is represented on her board. This misstep did not sit well with the company.
In a letter exclusively acquired by The Post, Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies, expressed his discontent with Smith’s approach. “Making unfounded and inflammatory accusations about a member of your own Board—and then bragging about it here—is truly something to behold,” Blau wrote in his sharply worded response to Smith’s op-ed in the Daily News.
Smith’s article took aim at Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, objecting to the anticipated decision to award a 20-year management contract for the iconic Wollman Rink. The contract is expected to go to a joint venture between Related Companies, a prominent real estate developer, and City Pickle, a brand specializing in pickleball.
In her op-ed, Smith criticized, “For decades, Wollman has been run by for-profit entities whose main goal is to extract profits. While the city receives modest fees, the corporate interests reap big profits and exploit huge branding opportunities.”
Smith further shared her sentiments in an email to the board obtained by The Post, writing, “I wanted to share, attached, an op-ed I wrote for today’s New York Daily News where we share our vision for a renovation of Wollman Rink and the surrounding area — and our disappointment with the current path the City has chosen.”
“I wanted to share, attached, an op-ed I wrote for today’s New York Daily News where we share our vision for a renovation of Wollman Rink and the surrounding area — and our disappointment with the current path the City has chosen,” she said in her email to the board, also obtained by The Post.
In response to Post inquiries about the tiff, a rep for the conservancy shared Smith’s response to Related’s Blau, in which she stands by the op-ed and the decision to publish it.
“We felt strongly that we needed to take our case directly to the public, and we stand by our decision,” she wrote in the reply, which reiterated her case that the Conservancy should’ve been taken up on its $120 million investment offer.
A NYC Parks hearing over the proposed license for the rink is scheduled for Thursday.
Wollman had been run by the Trump Organization until 2021, when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked it off the contract.
The Trump org unsuccessfully bid to take over the rink again this year, but lost to Related Companies and City Pickle’s joint venture, which operates as Wollman Park Partners II, LLC.
The Conservancy, which operates Central Park on behalf of the city, did not participate in the bidding process to manage the rink, but instead made a whole separate offer to invest $120 million in Wollman and the surrounding area of the park.
Related Companies’ did not return a request for comment late Wednesday.
Smith and other top officials at the Conservancy have faced criticism recently for taking home lavish salaries from the non-profit organization.
Smith makes a whopping $933,000 annual salary — with a dozen other officers raking in over $300,000.
