There\u2019s a lot of mint in Strawberry Fields!<\/p>\n
Top executives at the Central Park Conservancy \u2014 a tax-exempt group that famously manages and maintains the world-renowned park under a contractual agreement with the city \u2014 are raking in mounds of green, records show.<\/p>\n
President and CEO Elizabeth Smith\u2019s <\/a>total compensation was $933,592, including her hefty bonus incentive \u2014 and 12 other officers pulled in at least $300,000 apiece, according to the group\u2019s 2024 IRS filing for the 2023 calendar year.<\/p>\n Central Park Conservancy president and CEO Elizabeth W. Smith earned $933,592 last year, according to records. Patrick McMullan\/Getty<\/p>\n The year before, Smith\u2019s salary and benefits package came to a cool $1.178 million, while 15 others scored more than $300,000.<\/p>\n Smith earned $740,000 in 2021, a 22% increase from her $605,000 in salary and compensation in 2020.<\/p>\n By comparison, Mayor Eric Adams is paid $258,750 to oversee the entire city, and President Trump earns $400,000 to run the country.<\/p>\n The conservancy\u2019s chief financial officer, Stephen Spinelli, also pulled in $654,429 \u2014 a 24% increase over four years.<\/p>\n The compensation for Roger Mosier, chief of park operations, topped $500,000, the 2024 IRS report revealed.<\/p>\n Stephen Spinelli, the conservancy\u2019s chief financial officer, earned $654,429 last year. Linkedin<\/p>\n These salaries for a not-for-profit, tax-exempt \u201ccharitable\u201d group are beyond the pale, critics said.<\/p>\n \u201cThose salaries and benefits are outrageous. Where do you draw the line?\u201d said City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens), a member of the council\u2019s Parks Committee.<\/p>\n \u201cGive me a break.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Arthur Schwartz, a lawyer who served for 20 years as chair of Manhattan Community Board 2\u2019s Parks and Waterfront Committee in Greenwich Village, said other parks and playgrounds in the city are in desperate need of funds.<\/p>\n \u201cCentral Park has always been well-funded because wealthy people created a conservancy,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cIf they have enough money to pay these kind of salaries to executives, New York City would be better served if the conservancy adopted some local parks in the Bronx or Queens and helped with repair, renovation and upkeep.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cNo one needs a million dollars to run a park,\u201d he said. \u201cThe mayor makes $250,000.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith, who has been the conservancy\u2019s CEO and president since 2018 and is married to Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, took sides in a heated recent controversy related to the park by voicing support for legislation to phase out horse carriages in the Big Apple<\/a>.<\/p>\n The conservancy is a tax-exempt group that manages and maintains Central Park under a city contract. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n John Chiarello, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, which reps the horse carriage drivers, ripped Smith as \u201ca detached, super-rich aristocrat attacking 170 largely immigrant carriage drivers and spreading lies about them.<\/p>\n \u201cHer claim that the slow-moving horse carriages pose a danger, not the swarming e-bikes, motorized scooters and racing bicyclists that have taken over the park, is ridiculous, and reeks of an ulterior motive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Veteran horse carriage operator Christina Hansen, a TWU shop steward, said the riders make $50,000 to $60,000 a year, yet the conservancy wants to put them out of business.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re overpaid for what they do,\u201d Hansen said of the conservancy\u2019s higher-ups.<\/p>\n Smith has recently supported phasing out horse carriages in Central Park. REUTERS<\/p>\n The conservancy is not the only nonprofit group whose high salaries have faced scrutiny.<\/p>\n