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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 24th from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
At the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, May 08, 2014, the following resolution passed with a vote of 34 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining; 1 present not entitled to vote:
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 24th 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 multi-city tour, and will include the installation of an 80-foot box truck with the capacity to smoke 2,000 pounds of barbecue, a 400-square-foot gaming area, a 60-foot box truck for production support, five 10' x 10' tents for games, sponsors, and client back-of-house, and 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 every hour, as well as a dedicated loop of branded content about History programming for thirty minutes every hour; 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 Good Year Tires, as well as umbrellas site-wide advertising the History channel; and
WHEREAS, CB5 has a longstanding position against over-commercialization of our public parks, and finds that the branded signage at such heights is unacceptable for a public park; and after being denied approval for signage concerns last year, the Applicant was still unable to augment their signage; and
WHEREAS, Although Applicant adjusted their application in response to several additional concerns last year, including agreeing to make a donation to the Union Square Partnership, providing recycling points, using smaller speakers, and limiting volume levels, Applicant was unwilling to remove the branded signage, despite understanding our objections from previous years; 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 24th from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m