Court Says NYC Owns Tavern on the Green 1.87K Brian Moylan 03/10/10 03:54PM Filed to: Trademarks Trademarks Tavern on the Green Central Park New your city rulings A judge has ruled that the city—not the restaurant's previous operator—controls the name of the famous tourist trap, which closed January 1. Thank God. Now when it reopens, our grandmother won't drag us to "Tavern on the Park."