Tavern on the Green

Two of the city's top banquet behemoths were honored last night at the International Special Events Society's Annual Big Apple Awards at Cipriani Wall Street:

Michael Desiderio, chief operating officer of Tavern on the Green, and Joe Cozza, vice president of sales and marketing at Cipriani USA--both of whom are facing significant challenges these days in keeping their illustrious New York institutions afloat.

Tavern, for one, faces a potential bidding war to keep its sprawling 27,000-square-feet digs at Central Park. Cipriani, meanwhile, is struggling to hold onto its liquor licenses after CEO Giuseppe Cipriani pleaded guilty to tax charges last year.

I asked the friendly Mr.  read more »

More on that Crain's report about sexual and racial harrassment charges levied against iconic Central Park eatery Tavern On The Green.

Court papers assign blame to the famous restaurant's former operations director, Leon Drogy, who allegedly made "frequent sexual comments" to female employees, such as "wanting to 'fuck black pussy' and wanting to know whether 'black pussy' was 'smooth'."

The suit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, further accuses Mr. Drogy of repeatedly playing grab ass with one female employee, in particular, and also making many derogatory remarks toward "fucking bitches," "fucking niggers," and "fucking immigrants."

Certainly not the kind polite dinner conversation we've come to expect from the late Warner LeRoy and company, especially since his young daughter, Jennifer Oz LeRoy, now runs the place.

In a statement, the restaurant told Crain's that management learned of the allegations about two years ago and an internal investigation determined the claims to be baseless. (Criminal charges were also dropped.)

Nonetheless, the restaurant suspended Mr. Drogy. He later resigned.

Manhattan’s top-grossing independently owned eatery has been getting a yummy deal for a while. The city wants to change that.  read more »