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Parks & Public Spaces
Mad. Sq. Park Conservancy - application to conduct the MSQ Park Eats Fall Food & Dining festival in Worth Square daily from 9/23 through 10/21, 11a - 9p
WHEREAS, Madison Square Park Conservancy has submitted an application to conduct a Mad. Sq. Eats Food & Dining Festival in Worth Square, which is the park site bounded by Broadway, Fifth Avenue, West 24th Street and West 25th Street; and
WHEREAS, The Mad. Sq. Eats Food & Dining Festival would begin on Friday September 23, 2011 and would be conducted daily through Friday October 21, 2011, between the hours of 11:00 AM and 9:00 PM; and
WHEREAS, The Mad. Sq. Eats Spring Market Festival had been conducted from Friday May 6 through Friday June 3, 2011, and this had been promoted by Urban Space Management, promoters of such high quality retail events that include the Union Square Holiday Market; and
WHEREAS, Madison Square Park Conservancy is working with Urban Space Management on this proposed special event, which has taken into serious consideration Community Board Five's concerns and recommendations; and
WHEREAS, Load-in and set-up would begin on Wednesday September 21, 2011, and dismantling and load-out would be completed on or before Tuesday October 25, 2011, all of which would be conducted in a manner to minimize potential disturbances to the surrounding neighbors; and
WHEREAS, Like the previous Spring Market Festivals, the proposed event's marketplace would offer food and dining, and not crafts and other merchandise, and all vendors would be from local restaurants; and
WHEREAS, Worth Square would remain open to the public, and the tables and chairs would be available to anyone in the park, regardless of whether or not they are patronizing the festival's vendors; and
WHEREAS, Vendors for the proposed food & dining festival would be housed in twenty-four tents on the perimeter of Worth Square, facing inside of the square, and the signage would be limited to the name of the restaurant or vendor, and information regarding the event; and
WHEREAS, There would be no outside corporate sponsorship, nor would there be the requirement of signage to promote such; and
WHEREAS, Market festivals raise funds for the Madison Square Park Conservancy, funds which are directed toward Madison Square Park's maintenance, operations and programs; and
WHEREAS, Unlike the previous Fall Market Festivals, this proposed special event would require a substantially smaller sized footprint, which would be contained entirely inside of Worth Square, which is a paved public space, not a landscaped park space; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five believes that concerns raised in our previous resolutions have been taken very seriously, and we are confident that we will continue to maintain a constructive dialogue with the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Urban Space Management, and the surrounding neighborhood; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of Madison Square Park Conservancy's application to conduct the Mad. Sq. Eats Fall Food & Dining Festival in Worth Square daily from Friday September 23 through Friday October 21, 2011, 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM.
The above resolution passed by a vote of 31 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining.