Hudson River Park Trust

Internal Controls Over Financial Operations

The Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) is a public benefit corporation responsible for planning, developing, constructing, operating and maintaining a planned 550-acre park in New York City. All revenue generated by the Hudson River Park is to be applied toward the cost of operating and maintaining the Park. This revenue is to be generated by lease and commission payments from the private companies providing food and recreational facilities within the Park.

We audited HRPT’s system of internal controls over its financial operations and found that controls were generally adequate in the areas of cash and investments, payroll, budgeting and expenditures, Board of Director oversight and governance, and accounting and information systems. However, improvements were needed in the areas of revenue collection, procurement and contracting, and equipment and asset management. For example, lease payments from the private companies operating in the Park were not always collected in a timely manner and may not have been accurately recorded when they were collected. We note that, if HRPT did not improve its revenue collection practices, its ability to be financially self-sustaining might be jeopardized.

For a complete copy of Report 2004-S-37 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.
For a copy of the associated follow-up report click here.