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Parks & Public Spaces

August 2012, Parks Committee

Application from Civic Entertainment Group for a Ford Vehicle Launch Event in Father Duffy Square and the adjacent pedestrian plaza on Tuesday, September 18, 2012

At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, September13, 2012, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 28 in favor; 8 opposed; 1 abstaining:

WHEREAS, Civic Entertainment Group ("Applicant") has submitted an application to hold a Ford Vehicle Launch Event in Father Duffy Square and the adjacent pedestrian plaza on Tuesday, September 18, 2012; and

WHEREAS, Set-up for the event would begin at midnight on Monday, September 17, with cleanup concluding at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18, with the event taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18; and

WHEREAS, The event would consist of a six-foot-tall stage on the pedestrian plaza adjacent to Father Duffy Square measuring 24' x 48', with five parked Ford Fusion cars on the stage and within the pedestrian plaza, with a filmed press conference during the event to be hosted by Ryan Seacrest; and

WHEREAS, The event would make use of amplified sound, with two arrays of speaker equipment and sub-woofers on either side of the stage for recorded music and a microphone; and

WHEREAS, Applicant has estimated attendance of 1000, with a staff of 50 people to run the event, and five people for sanitation; and

WHEREAS, 450 of those in attendance will be a pre-selected group cordoned off in a 24' x 30' section of Father Duffy Square, holding flip cards containing the Ford Fusion logo that are to be held up during the press conference; and

WHEREAS, The northern end of the pedestrian plaza would be occupied by two generators which would be required to power the event, along with an additional 20' x 30' production tent and two green rooms for event hosts; and

WHEREAS, Further ancillary uses would be housed on Father Duffy Square, including an 8' x 20' press riser with two camera platforms, and an 8' x 12' control riser positioned adjacent to the George M.Cohan statue; and

WHEREAS, Further ancillary uses would be housed on West 46th and West 47th Streets, including a Video Production Truck and Vehicle Storage Trailer; and

WHEREAS, Although Applicant would donate the required amount of money to the City's general fund and the Times Square Alliance, as per the City's fee schedule, Community Board Five has long held that promotional events in our public parks are not supportable without an interactive, educational, or philanthropic component, providing some benefit to the public; and

WHEREAS, The event is strictly commercial in nature, overwhelming in scale, and would occupy nearly the entire footprint of both the parkland and the pedestrian plaza for a period of two days, inhibiting public access; therefore, be it