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Knickerbocker trustees press city over unpaid rent, missing pool plans and new lease
Summary
The private Knickerbocker Park trustees told Troy's law committee the city is in arrears on rent and has made unauthorized changes to the ice-rink lobby; trustees asked council help to finalize a 2025 lease and secure pool plans tied to a DASNY grant; city officials said site-control documents were supplied and cited a long-term underlying lease.
Representatives of the Knickerbocker Board — president Adam Teltsergard, vice president Joe Hankel and counsel Patrick Moore — told the law committee they are seeking council assistance to resolve multiple lease and maintenance disputes with the city.
The board said it continues to operate under a 2020 agreement and submitted a 2025 proposed lease; it reported the city has not paid monthly rent since December 2025 (five months at $5,000/month, per the trustees) and flagged breaches including unapproved lobby modifications, missing pool plans, safety and maintenance issues (dirt bike access, overgrown limbs, vandalism), and uncertainty about who will operate and staff the pool scheduled to open this summer.
Administration officials responded that the city has invested significantly in the park (rehabilitated ice rink, $5.8 million in grant-backed pool funding) and that documentation submitted to DASNY included both a term offer sheet and a long-term lease that satisfied site-control requirements. Officials said the term-offer-sheet payment approach had been used to secure grant approval and that, administratively, the city has continued to honor the $5,000 monthly payment while negotiations were underway. They also urged both sides back to the table and cautioned that threatening termination of the lease could jeopardize grant-funded projects.
Trustees said their priority is restored communication and a negotiated lease that protects the trust’s fiduciary obligations and the long-term operation of the park; they have not filed lease-default legal papers but say termination has been discussed internally. Council members suggested reconvening to set a path forward and asked the administration and Knick board to provide concrete timelines, pool plans, and a joint meeting agenda.
Outcome: No binding council action was taken; both sides left with a directive to pursue meetings to reconcile the lease, furnish pool design and staffing plans to the trustees, and clarify the status of rent and grant site-control documents.
