NYC pushed to ban Central Park music festival after $620K in damages last year: ‘I have never been a fan’
New York City should ban an annual charity concert in Central Park after last year’s festivities caused more than $620,000 worth of damages to the greenspace, one local politician said.
City Council member Gale Brewer isn’t feeling the beat of the Global Citizen Festival, asking Mayor Eric Adams to tell organizers of the one-day event they’re no longer welcome on the park’s Great Lawn because of annual damages and closures.
Brewer wrote in a letter to Adams on Thursday that the event “invariably obstructs the flow of foot traffic, creates noise pollution” — and cuts off a large section of the park for days.
The Great Lawn was closed to prepare for this year’s event on Sept. 22, a full week before the star-studded free concert that drew 60,000 attendees this year despite rainy weather.
It was set to reopen on Tuesday but remained closed Friday as the park assesses damages from the event, according to the nonprofit Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park.
“The closure of the Great Lawn from September 22 to date has prevented New Yorkers and visitors from enjoying the space,” Brewer wrote of the free festival. “This is almost a two-week closure in order to accommodate the installation of heavy machinery, barricades, and large stages for what is, once again, solely a one-day event.”
Saturday’s rain-soaked concert — featuring performances from rappers Post Malone and Jelly Roll, pop star Doja Cat, reggaetón artist Rauw Alejandro, South Korean girl group BLACKPINK and more — came just a year after the 2023 festival’s muddy mosh pit caused about $622,000 in damages to the park.
The festival’s board of directors stepped in to foot the itemized bill, which mostly paid for sod removal and replacement, according to a Patch report.
But the outlet noted a third-party turf grass expert concluded that only 15,000 square feet of turf grass warranted replacement, not the 300,000 square feet that the Central Park Conservancy contended.
Since 2018, the bills have ranged from $4,300 to $70,901 over “failure to perform its restoration obligations,” records show.
After last year’s issues, the conservancy said it would work with the NYC Parks Department to come up with a plan to minimize damages when big events are held during inclement weather.
This included “how and when the city might cancel” any events, but this year’s festival went ahead Saturday even after Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and others pushed the organizers to ax the festival because of rainy conditions.
A spokesperson for the festival told The Post that this year’s damages are expected to “be minimal, and nothing like last year,” adding that the festival always pays for the damage caused to the park.
A parks representative also told The Post that rain was “minimal compared to last year.”
“We took several added precautions this year to protect the lawn including additional flooring, pre-seeding and conditioning, cordoning off vulnerable areas, and developing an updated weather management plan in coordination with our partners at the Central Park Conservancy,” the parks spokesperson said.
“Central Park is not a museum; it’s an active space with a long legacy of hosting large cultural events like this one,” the parks rep added. “As with every year, our partners at Global Citizen are fully committed to restoring the Great Lawn to its original condition, ensuring the space remains accessible for parkgoers.”
As a result of last year’s deluge-related damage, the lawn closed for seven months following the festival, Brewer said — though the grounds are typically closed from November to April for regular maintenance.
“I have never been a fan of the Global Citizen Festival because so little, if any, of the grants are allocated to nonprofits in New York City,” Brewer wrote to the mayor Thursday. “I urge you to schedule the Global Citizen Festival in a venue other than Central Park, such as an arena or stadium.”
A request for comment from the mayor’s office regarding Brewer’s call to relocate the festival was not immediately returned.
It’s unlikely that the festival will find a new home anytime soon, as Adams squashed the possibility of a relocation during a 2023 news conference.
“We’re not looking to damage the Great Lawn, but I don’t want to damage the lawn in Prospect Park, I don’t want to damage the lawn anywhere,” Adams said at the time. “The parks belong to the people and we should all share the use of the parks, and no park is better than the others.”
