Tea House trouble with contractor

The refurbishment of the Tea House at Leonard Park was supposed to have been completed by now but problems with the contractor has caused the village to call the bond that had been posted and finish the job. THANE GRAUEL PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco has called the bond posted by the contractor who won the bid to refurbish the Leonard Park Tea House in an attempt to complete the work after the company ran into repeated trouble with the project.

Town Attorney Jonathan Nelson revealed last week that the village had taken the step after Trustee Tammy Brown asked Village Manager Ed Brancati for an update on the progress of the Tea House construction. The structure, sometimes referred to as the “pagoda,” had been damaged in a fire on April 17, 2025, that was deemed by authorities to be arson. While the village had planned to update the facility before the fire, the greatest amount of damage occurred to the outside deck, not the building.

The contractor that was awarded the bid in May 2025 for $282,817, ELQ Industries Inc., encountered problems on the job, officials said.

All public works projects require the contractor to post a performance bond, Nelson said. The bond ensures that a contractor meets its contractual obligations, or if a project fails to be completed, then the municipality has the money to finish the work.

“Simultaneously, and parallel to that dispute, to that calling on the bond, we’re also trying to work it out so that we can get the project finished in a timely manner,” Nelson said. “We’re not interested in litigating it, we’re not interested in prolonging it, but we are interested in getting it done and getting it done right, and so far, it has not been done and it has not been done right.”

In December, the chair and co-chair of the Leonard Park Committee, Erin Heaton and Mey Marple, appeared before the Village Board and expressed deep concerns regarding the pace of work at the site. There had been delays during the bidding process and mistakes made in ordering materials. They also took issue with the village failing to hire a project manager to oversee the work.

The original project manager did a poor job and was fired by the contractor after work began.

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said this week that there were weather delays over the winter but that doesn’t explain all of the problems that forced the village to call the bond.

“As I understand it, the contractor had some difficulty with his employees through the subcontractors,” Cindrich said. “I relied on others to manage the project because of the skills and basically the knowledge of the building inspector, Peter Miley. I approached him to be the clerk of the works to oversee the project, but that didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”

Nelson was unable to provide an estimate as to when the project may be finished, saying only “as soon as possible.” He said that if calling the bond and getting someone else to complete the job fails, then litigation would be the next step. However, that is something the village wants to avoid.

“We’re not interested in doing that because then it’s not going to get finished,” Nelson said.

In December, most of the project was done, with items such as completion of the ramp and the installation of new glass appearing to be imminent.

The Tea House, built in the mid-1960s, has been used by the village, organizations and residents to hold events. In recent years it had been used increasingly as a place for the area’s homeless population.

With the arrival of spring, Brown said it was critical for the Tea House to be reopened soon.

“I’m sure everyone wants to take advantage of being outside and using our park,” Brown said. “So we want to have the Tea House completed.”