From 2010 until 2012, the building was used as a public visitor center and gift shop run by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Luncheon and dinner offerings changed regularly and Mr. Berman would often add special desserts to celebrate family events, such as "Parfait Ruth" to honor the birth of his granddaughter.

The controversy placed Moses, an urban planner known for displacing families for other large projects around the city, against a group of mothers who frequented a wooded hollow at the site of a parking lot.

Demolition work commenced after Central Park was closed for the night, and was only halted after a threat of a lawsuit.

[10] In July 1983, a dozen youths leaving a nearby concert robbed patrons and stole a cash register.

[13][14] In June 2008, Tavern on the Green agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a sexual and racial discrimination lawsuit over claims by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of "pervasive harassment" of women and minority employees.

"[21][22][23][24]On October 15, 2010, the city re-opened the building as a visitors information center with a gift shop selling city-themed T-shirts, hats and other memorabilia.

[27] Later in 2011, the street vendors stationed in Tavern on the Green's courtyard were given notice that their operating contracts would not be renewed.

After food truck operators left the site, construction, "basic stabilization and renovation work" according to the city, began on the building.

[29] The new owners announced that Tavern on the Green would reopen for dinner on April 24, 2014, followed by a grand opening on May 13, 2014, after which the restaurant began also serving brunch and lunch.

Jim Caiola, one of the new managing partners, stated that the tavern's new interior would be more reminiscent of "old New York" than more recent incarnations, featuring dark wood paneling and a more open, bucolic feel.

It hosted the wedding receptions of several prominent Americans, including one of the seven marriages of author Robert Olen Butler[34] (later divorced) and film director Walter Hill.

It is also depicted in Wall Street (1987), The Out-of-Towners (1999), It Had to Be You (2000), and Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)[38] A "Cavern on the Green" is shown in the film The Flintstones.