The kiosk in Bogardus Plaza is once again seeking a new tenant — after three operators have tried and failed to get traction there. The Friends of Bogardus Plaza are issuing an request for proposals soon; the Department of Transportation is reviewing it now.

I know what I want: an outpost of Frenchette bakery so I don’t have to walk to Worth and Church. Or — don’t laugh — a newsstand.

The last iteration —  Joey Bats, the purveyor of Portuguese pastries who has cafes around the city, and El Sazón R.D., the Dominican burger joint in Chinatown that went viral a couple of years ago — opened in March 2025, so they lasted a little more than a year. Tribeca Plate — a Benvenuto production — opened in 2023 and closed a year later. The first operator there, Zucker’s, lasted a year as well, closing its ZEATS outpost in June 2023.

The city really did not have its thinking cap on, IMO, when it allowed a truly ugly, 24-7 halal truck to operate RIGHT NEXT TO the kiosk, which is a city-owned operation (that went through a big design process) in a publicly-funded plaza built on city land. A little holistic planning might help here.

The maintenance for the plaza is covered entirely by the Friends of Bogardus Plaza. The annual bill was about $90,000 when I last checked in 2022 — no doubt higher than that now — and more than half of that goes to the ACE workers who keep the plaza clean and make minor repairs. The organization solicits donations, but that is a perpetual challenge. The kiosk is intended to generate revenue.

The property is owned by the Department of Transportation, but their only maintenance obligation is to repair cobblestone pavers and lights. Everything else (benches, the platform, plantings, chairs and tables) is the responsibility of the Friends. The Department of Sanitation picks up the garbage from the curb, though ACE workers must collect it in the park.

The Friends had to purchase the kiosk in 2021 — at the time it was a prototype for other DOT plazas — but the actual structure was designed and is owned by the city. The tenants pay a monthly rent plus a percentage should they go over a certain dollar amount in revenue. The original purchase of the kiosk was made with loans from four private lenders, including local realtor Jeff Tabak, who put in the most (and whose office is just around the corner on Reade).