NY's Tavern on the Green to sell art, chandeliers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's famed restaurant and celebration spot Tavern on the Green has asked a bankruptcy court to approve the sale of its tableware and art, including Tiffany stained glass, murals and etched mirrors, at a mid-January auction.

The auction, run by Guernsey's and scheduled for January 13 and 14, will offer some 900 lots of items including Baccarat chandeliers, outdoor topiaries and copper weather vanes to restaurateurs, decorators and the general public.

"The place settings that were part of so many wonderful dinners will be sold," said Guernsey's in an auction notice on its website.

Intellectual property assets such as the company's well-known name, recipes and reservation data, are not included in the sale.

"Because of the uncertainty created by closing its doors as a restaurant on or about December 31, and because the debtors need to vacate its Central Park premises by February 14, the instant sale motion will essentially preserve the value of the debtors' assets by converting them immediately to cash," said the company in a court document.

Tavern on the Green, located in New York's Central Park, has long been known as a place to celebrate special occasions.

It is planning a New Year's Eve 2009 farewell party.

The restaurant filed for bankruptcy protection in September after the city granted a new lease for the property to another restaurateur.

Dean Poll, who operates the Boathouse restaurant in Central Park, won the license for the location and has proposed a $25 million renovation before opening again. It's not clear whether the new venue will be allowed to use the Tavern on the Green name.

More information on the auction can be found on the guernseys.com website.

The bankruptcy case is: In re Tavern on the Green Limited Partnership, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-15450.

(Reporting by Chelsea Emery, editing by Gerald E. McCormick.)