Mount Kisco Tea House dispute simmers

Leonard Park Tea House MOUNT KISCO PARKS & RECREATION PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco continues to negotiate with the contractor who won the bid to rehabilitate the Tea House at Leonard Park but has caught officials’ and residents’ ire for tardiness and subpar work.

During an update provided to the Village Board this week by Village Attorney Jonathan Nelson, there is still no clear timetable when a resolution to the dispute may be reached or when the project could be completed.

The discord between the village and ELQ Industries Inc., came to a head in the winter when officials were dissatisfied with the length of time the project was taking and the quality of the work, prompting the village to call on the performance bond. A contractor must post a bond for most public works projects to protect the municipality and to ensure completion of the job in case of problems such as substandard work or if the project is abandoned.

Nelson said earlier this week that there was no substantive progress to report regarding the negotiations, although talks have been ongoing. The goal is to have the work completed as swiftly as possible but without a long legal fight.

“The last thing the village wants to do is go into protracted litigation because then the project will just drag on,” Nelson said. “So, we’re trying to do it in an efficient manner.”

ELQ Industries was awarded the bid for the work in May 2025 for about $282,000. A $100,000 state grant secured by Assemblymember Chris Burdick and about $32,000 in insurance money from the fire was to be applied to the project’s cost.

While renovations had already been planned for the Tea House, a fire in April 2025 that was determined by authorities to be arson, damaged the facility’s outside deck, thereby increasing the scope of work. 

Since work started last year, the project has been plagued by troubles including wrong materials being ordered, the firing of the original project manager and harsh winter weather. Most of the project had been completed by December, but stalled since then. At that time, Village Manager Ed Brancati said the contractor had not been paid.

Nelson said the calling of the bond by the village seemed to have caught the contractor’s attention and forced them to work with officials toward a solution.

“That did two things. The first is, obviously, it called on the performance bond and got the bond company involved, but the second, which is, I think, more important, it got the contractor back to the table to facilitate the most important aspect of this, which is completion of the project,” Nelson said. “We’re in that process right now currently, and we’ve been so for the past couple of weeks, which is trying to negotiate a resolution.”

Among the issues that negotiations are centering on is a timeline for completion, assurances that the work will be done competently and for the village to have a say in the choice of subcontractors, he said. One of the issues was poor work by one of the subcontractors.

The Tea House, also known as the pagoda, located inside the Route 172 entrance to Leonard Park, has been used by residents, organizations and the village for various events. It opened in the mid-1960s and has been looked upon as a unique feature for the park.