Natalie Musumeci/New York Daily News
The Prospect Park Alliance says that the entire covered ice rink at the LeFrak Center is in use now. Pictured is the rink on Friday when a large strip of the ice was out of service.
The mechanical problems that have plagued Prospect Park’s brand new $ 74 million skating mega-facility ever since it opened to the public have been put on ice — for now.
Issues with one of the two rinks at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside have been worked out, Prospect Park Alliance officials claimed Wednesday afternoon following an inquiry.
RELATED: PROSPECT PARK’S NEW $ 74M SKATE FACILITY IS ON THIN ICE
“Since Saturday, the ice has been evenly frozen across 100% of the rink,” said spokesman Eric Landau.
“Both rinks are open and fully accessible for public skating. Engineers remain on site to monitor the situation.”
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The fix comes after the Daily News reported Friday that a large strip of the covered rink had been closed off multiple times due to freezing issues since the 26-acre facility opened to great fanfare the week before Christmas.
The problems have interrupted a hockey league’s practices and pickup games up to 10 times, players said, adding that a malfunctioning compressor kept the ice from freezing in certain areas. One employee at rink contractor IceBuilders, the engineering firm that installed the rinks’ compressors, blamed the operators of the facility for the error.
RELATED: SKATE EXPECTATIONS WITH OPENING OF PROSPECT PARK ICE RINKS
“It’s an operator issue. It’s not a mechanical issue,” said an IceBuilders employee who refused to give his name. “We installed [the compressors] but somebody has to operate it correctly and that’s not what’s being done.”
The rinks are operated by Upsilon Ventures, a Madison Ave. company that calls itself a specialty development firm, which also operates the Winter Village at Bryant Park in Manhattan. The company did not comment on the allegations.
“Both ice skating rinks are open to the public accommodating public skating, lessons and skating programs at full capacity,” said Upsilon Ventures’ executive director Sar Inbar in a statement. “Technical and operational staff are monitoring ice conditions closely to ensure the quality of the ice and safety of our skaters.”
nmusumeci@nydailynews.com
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