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Parks & Public Spaces
Application from Dillon J. Nauert on behalf of Facebook (“Applicant”) for “Facebook in the Park,” a marketing event in Bryant Park on December 13th, 2018 from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm
WHEREAS, Facebook ("Applicant") has submitted a permit application to hold "Facebook in the Park," a marketing and “educational” event in Bryant Park aimed at rebuilding trust and repairing the relationship with Facebook users, on December 13th, 2018 from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm; and
WHEREAS, The event will consist of Facebook employees distributing educational materials and hosting in-person sessions with attendees about security controls and privacy, to take place in a structure measuring approximately 10 feet by 40 feet; and
WHEREAS, The proposed 8.5” x 11” pieces of paper that were submitted to Community Board Five as the proposed “notices” advising the general public of the use of film and photography taking place at the event are clearly insufficient, in that they lack the proper size to bring awareness to them and could also not be easily read, an element of the event that Community Board Five finds particularly objectionable given that the stated aim of the event is to educate attendees about how to properly protect their privacy; and
WHEREAS, A plan for security and crowd control was not submitted to Community Board Five at the time of the application, and due to the particular nature of the applicant and its relationship with the general public, and the occurrences of protests at other Facebook events around the world, Community Board Five views this as of increased importance; and
WHEREAS, Signage will consist of large, backlit Facebook logos on the front and back of the structure,
however, the degree of brightness of the illumination could not be confirmed; and
WHEREAS, In addition, the timing of the application being submitted to the Parks Department prevented
a proper public hearing in advance of the event, resulting in Community Board Five's inability to fully
and properly give this application its appropriate public hearing, which would have allowed the applicant
to properly address several critical issues identified by CB5; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application from Dillon J. Nauert on
behalf of Facebook (“Applicant”) for “Facebook in the Park,” a marketing and “educational” event in
Bryant Park aimed at rebuilding trust and repairing the relationship with Facebook users, on December
13th, 2018 from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm; and be it further
RESOLVED, As the timing of the application being submitted to the Parks Department prevented a
proper public hearing in advance of the event, Community Board Five continues to request that the Parks
Department extend the minimum notice required of event applications to 45 days, to ensure that they can
be given a proper public hearing.