NEW YORK (AP) - A legal fight is looming over Tavern on the Green, the Central Park restaurant that has been a tourist destination since the 1930s.

The dispute revolves around the restaurant's name.

For decades, the trademark to the name "Tavern on the Green" has been held by the LeRoy family. They have operated the restaurant since the 1970s, but are slated to lose control at the end of the year when the city brings in a new company to run the place.

But now the city claims that it alone is the proper owner of the name, noting that the restaurant had been called "Tavern on the Green" for nearly 40 years before the LeRoys got involved.

The building is owned by the city.

The LeRoy family says it will defend its ownership of the name in court.