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Parks & Public Spaces
Application from Civic Entertainment Group to hold “HISTORY Cross-Country Cookout,” a special event in Union Square Park on Thursday, June 27th from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
At the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, May 09, 2013, the following resolution passed with a unanimous vote of 34 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, Civic Entertainment Group ("Applicant") has submitted an application to hold "HISTORY Cross-Country Cookout," a special event in Union Square Park, on Thursday, June 27th from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and
WHEREAS, The event will take place in the North Plaza of Union Square Park as part of a 14-city tour, and will include the installation of an 80-foot box truck with the capacity to smoke 2,000 pounds of barbecue, a 48-foot box truck for production support, seven 10' x 10' tents for games, sponsors, and client back-of-house, as well as an appearance by celebrity chef Trace Arnold, the Rib Whisperer; and
WHEREAS, Members of the public will be able to sample complimentary barbecue and play bocce, as well as other games and activities; and
WHEREAS, Amplified sound would consist of background music and announcements, as well as a dedicated loop of branded content about History programming; and
WHEREAS, Signage would consist of a series of 15' high teardrop signs mounted on top of the 80-foot smoker box truck to advertise History programming and Nationwide Insurance, as well as umbrellas site-wide advertising the History channel; and
WHEREAS, Applicant agreed to make a donation of $2,500 to the Union Square Partnership in response to the Committee's request; and
WHEREAS, CB5 has a longstanding position against over-commercialization of our public parks, and the Committee found the teardrop branded signage unacceptable for a beautiful public park; and
WHEREAS, Although Applicant adjusted their application in response to several additional concerns of the Committee, including providing recycling points, using smaller speakers, and limiting volume levels, Applicant was unwilling to remove the teardrop branded signage from the application in response to the Committee's concerns; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application from Civic Entertainment Group to hold "HISTORY Cross-Country Cookout," a special event in Union Square Park on Thursday, June 27th from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.