Cirque du Soleil's OVO show is coming to Randall's Island on April 8. (Cirque du Soleil)By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The familiar yellow-and-blue striped tents of Cirque du Soleil will be making their way to Randall’s Island this April, but plans to get the audience there are adrift in the East River.
The city put in a last minute request for proposals Thursday for the operation and maintenance of a ferry service and dock construction at the Harlem River event site of OVO, which is adjacent to Icahn Stadium.
“A concession must be awarded quickly because the existing concession agreement was recently terminated,” read the RFP on The City Record, which keeps tracks of the city’s solicitations and awards for goods and services.
New York Water Taxi provided daily ferry service to and from Randall’s Island for last year’s Cirque du Soleil show. A representative for the company said they did not have an existing contract with the city so nothing was terminated, and they will answer the RFP in the hopes of getting the business again.
New York Water Taxi made pick-ups for Cirque du Soleil on Manhattan’s east side at 90th Street and 35th Street in 2009.
The city's RFP noted that the operator who gets the bid would be responsible for making approximately $8,000 worth of improvements to the dock on Randall’s Island. The construction will have to happen quickly with the Cirque show opening on April 8.
Officials at the Parks Department involved in the RFP were not available for immediate comment.
East Harlem resident | February 13, 2010