By West Side Rag
The Great Lawn in Central Park will remain closed to the public for longer than initially expected following the Global Citizen Festival on September 28, a spokesperson from the Central Park Conservancy confirmed to West Side Rag on Thursday evening.
The Great Lawn will now remain closed until, at least, late October, “at which point we will reassess when it can reopen to the public,” the spokesperson told the Rag.
Initially, just a section of the Great Lawn was expected to remain closed through Wednesday, October 2, according to the Central Park Conservancy.
The Great Lawn closes for the season each year in mid-to-late November, which means that the reassessment period in late October would leave just a few weeks of possible reopening.
Last year, the Great Lawn was damaged on the day of the Global Citizen concert, when Tropical Storm Ophelia blew through the city and turned the grass to mud. As a result, the Great Lawn closed for the winter season around a month-and-a-half earlier than normal.
While the rainfall was not as heavy this year, it did rain on and around the day of the September 28 festival.
With rain again forecasted for the day of the concert this year, Upper West Side elected officials Gale Brewer and Brad Hoylman-Sigal both voiced their concerns about the effect that the tens of thousands of concertgoers would have upon the Great Lawn.
On Thursday, Brewer penned a letter to Mayor Eric Adams for the second year in a row to “request that the Global Citizen Festival no longer be scheduled in Central Park.”
“This year, more rain at the Global Citizen Festival risked further damage, the extent of which is still being assessed,” Brewer added. “But already, the closure of the Great Lawn from September 22 to date has prevented New Yorkers and visitors from enjoying the space.”
When asked for comment on the closure, a spokesperson for the New York City Parks Department told the Rag that the park is “not a museum.”
“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 spokesperson said. “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.
“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 spokesperson added. “The rain we saw at this year’s concert was minimal compared to last year and we are confident that any impact to the lawn will be minimal as well.”
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here.
What is particularly sad is that the Global Citizen concert-goers don’t particularly care about the world or environment…..
I get they are there to enjoy the concert – but the entitlement and virtue-signaling about an event that leaves trash, uses energy resources, generates amplified sound, wrecks the grass etc. is unbelievable.
Not sure that a concert can be fairly criticized because it “generates amplified sound.” Kinda comes with the territory, doesn’t it?
Joe,
If the point of the organization is to address environmental issues, then it isn’t it fair to note that the organization’s event is an example of harms to the environment?
Subway Parent,
Absolutely. I just think that to add “amplified sound,” to the list of offenses, when we’re talking about a concert in a park, to be a bit over the top.
It should not be held in a public space when its impact is so destructive to the land , the cost is insane, and the whole neighborhood should NOT have to live with the earth-shattering noise which impacts everone who lives above the ground floor for two days (rehreasal Sat., concert Sunday). The noise level is horrendous and we have NO recourse. My area is filled with musicians who can’t practice due to the din and can’t even hear themselves. The thumping is insane and relentless. PLEASE, whoever is in charge, don’t let them come back! They are intrusive to an unforgivable degree. We are global citizens too.
This is ridiculous that the Great Lawn is ruined and closed for months every year. They need to find a new location on a pier or something.
If, as the spokesperson said, several added precautions were taken this year to protect the lawn, and the rain at this year’s concert was minimal compared to last year, resulting in minimal impact to the lawn, why is closure of the lawn now being extended from the previously planned October 2 date to at least
late October, at which point the Parks Department will reassess when it can reopen to the public?
Reasonable question. But don’t ask the bureaucrats for logical answers; you’re sure to be disappointed.
Because it’s all lies and obfuscation, as per usual with the virtue-signaling world-saving glitterati.
Same with the UN nonsense. Same crowd, same congestion, same overtime and exorbitant spend by our services, same useless rhetoric every year – so that some “esteemed” do-nothings from every backwater country can bring their mistresses shopping in NYC. Make them go to Bretton Woods. How many conflicts have they actually stopped because of that specific gathering? How many crises have they prevented?
Omg WHY DO WE ALLOW THEM TO DO THIS. Gale Brewer should be embarrassed.
Have you bothered to read the article?
Don’t blame Gale Brewer for this. She’s against having this concert in the park, but City Councilors don’t have the power to block it.
There is an elected City official who could block it: the Mayor.
Unbelievable. Who has the power to stop this from happening?
For many years I donated to the CPC at a high-level membership rate. After last year’s fiasco, I decided to reduce my donation. After this year, I will donate elsewhere.
If they don’t give a crap about the Park, then they don’t need my money.
Give to Riverside or another park conservancy. They desperately need funds
If you read the article, you can see this is not CPC’s decision to host this event. It is up to the city and the parks department. CPC just ends up dealing with the headache of the cleaning afterwards. If anything, this shows that CPC does need our financial support because the city does not really fund the park, but still expects it to get taken care.
This festival ‘s gotta go.
AG REE! How can we bring this about? Need to start a campaign!
Why don’t they have this festival on Staten Island?
Talk about the irony, a festival to celebrate the earth that’s bad for the earth.
The park isn’t a museum, but that doesn’t mean there should be an annual event that inevitably causes so much damage that a large swath of the park needs to be closed to the public for an extended period (during some of the most pleasant lawn-worthy weather of the year)
Apparently, the spokesperson who said that thinks that museums are stale, lifeless places. He/she should probably get out more and visit NYC cultural institutions. There are plenty of exciting, lively things that happen in museums and where cleanup is quick and complete. Museums are able to bring life and culture without having to close for months after being trashed by a party.
The park actually is a museum, if a living one, of Calvert Vaux’s amazing design for the park.
Clearly evident is the failure of the NYC Parks Dept to understand the repeated assault and destruction of the Great lawn in Central Park. CPk Conservancy might try to influence all political representatives to end the Global Citizens assault. Let then use the Piers or some wooden structures. What a failure all around. Save Central Park for green space only.
Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island would make a good alternative.
I’m confused. Global Citizen has plenty of money to pay for damages after the fact, but can’t afford an indoor venue during hurricane season? A true global citizen would not be tone deaf to the fact that NO ONE WANTS YOU HERE.
I hope Live Nation is being charge for the damage repair and all the overtime paid to park employees, police and EMTs during this shamefull rip-off event. Why should the rest of NYC residents suffer for damage caused by their event? Why are we allowing them to continue having these events?
Remember Elton John in the partk? Donna Summer? Simon and Garfunkel? FREE events for us to enjoy, not rip-off where tickets cost over $100 for a show in a public space.
Shame on whoever is allowing this travesty to continue!
Time to tell these affluent self-satisfied people to feel good about themselves somewhere else.
The admin response tells it all – our parks are for sale, not for your recreation.
Eric and his people are after nothing but the bag. Thanks due to the feds for going hard on these indictments, may there be more charges coming
Global Citizens has played in Central Park since 2012 so this isn’t a Mayor Adams created thing. Fine if you want to criticize the current mayor, but this concert long predates his administration.
It is time to end Global Citizen Concert. It’s nothing but a problem and an inconvenience to the Upper West Side Neighborhoods. Our streets, bike lanes which I hate, sidewalks and park are invaded by this group and dangerous tripping hazards are placed throughout the area. Also, their trucks obstruct street crossing points causing wheelchair bound residents to have travel an extra couple of blocks to reach their homes or the park
Entirely predictable and preventable. Why do they continue to allow this festival on the great lawn? You would think they would have learned their lesson after the damage that the rain caused last year which required closing and extensive repair.
They can book Metlife or Governor’s Island if they want the same number of attendees. Or the garden/ barclays for a crowd of 20k. Get this the hell out of central park
or in a different city!
I’m also going to send a message to Sue Donoghue, the head of the Parks Department.
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/home/mail/html/maildpr.html
Thanks for the email address, I.W. I wrote a message to Ms Donoghue on the form provided, but could not submit it because it required a CAPTCHA response. But there was no CAPTCHA anywhere on the form. It figures.
I used to love the park. I won’t donate to the Conservancy because of the cyclists who don’t stop for the red lights and the cyclists and the scooter people who ignore the signage relative to using the pathways. The crime and lack of monitoring by the police have also driven me away, as well as the Global Citizen concert (why can’t they rent Madison Square Garden?). Compared to the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris and the main park in Madrid (in the latter, police on scooters patrol constantly), Central Park is pure chaos. Not at all calm or relaxing.
This is total non sense that the Great Lawn is ruined and closed for months every year. The Global Citizens Festival needs to find a new location like an indoor arena for their circus.
This is so ridiculous!!!!!
It would be nice if they could make a nine hole executive golf course in Central Park or Riverside Park.
It’s time to move the festival – it’s causing too much damage to the park.
Gale Brewer just sent me a message:
……”Billy did you see the NY Post today. I advocated to stop the concert. Gale”
You’re fortunate that GB will contact you. Over the years she has never replied to me. Not even a “thanks, I got your note”, which might indicate that she is our representative.
I have contacted her anonymously under an alias and she responded to me and followed up on an issue I had.
Yes Gale Brewer has been known to be unresponsive or unenthusiastic about responding to if it is an issue that she does not want to stick her neck out for. Just ask the Muslims who were messed with by cops on the UWS.
We cast our vote “not” to have Global Citizen Festival in Central Park or on the Great Lawn of Central Park, but urge them to find another alternate location for their cause and to use common sense when they pick the next location.
As a parent living and paying taxes on the uws and a long time donor to Central Park – I find it astounding that they can cancel kids baseball and soccer (neither of which is cheap btw) at the slightest chance of rain and yet here we are again. Unreal. I’ll see if I can get a person to walk me through the logic of this before I write my next annual check to the park.
This is the same crap they do with Frisbee Hill for the National Geographic Film Festival. Completely ironic if you ask me.
This is for National Geographic yet they shut the park down for the week of the fest (which the lawn is left trashed from the spectators) and then the following four – five weeks this year for repair work.
Change the venue! The bandshell is what 5 feet away, move it there. I’m sure that space can accommodate the thousands (lol) of spectators the Film Fest brings in.
Central Park Conservancy needs to rethink their priorities.