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Parks & Public Spaces
2019 Application for the Sikh Cultural Society’s post-parade event on Saturday, April 27 on Madison Avenue between East 23rd and 26th Streets and East 26th Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South.
WHEREAS, The Sikh Cultural Society ("Applicant") has submitted permit applications to the Parks Department and the Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO) to hold a post-parade event in Madison Square Park and on certain adjacent streets as noted above, causing those streets' full or partial closures; and WHEREAS, Over the course of several years, Applicant has worked with Community Board Five, in coordination with SAPO and the Madison Square Park Conservancy (MSPC), to improve their event operationally and alleviate any issues from prior years’ events; and
WHEREAS, Applicant has signed a Statement of Compliance acknowledging their understanding and acceptance of Community Board Five’s Policy on Madison Square Park Large Events and each of its required operational commitments and restrictions; and
WHEREAS, Applicant has provided a site map of their event, including emergency lane clearance requirements, as well as plans for sanitation, security, amplified sound, and cell phone contact information for day-of point persons to respond to any immediate concerns, all of which have been shared with SAPO; and
WHEREAS, Applicant has agreed to set the volume level of their amplified sound system by 2:00 p.m. on the day of their event, in coordination with SAPO and MSPC, and commits to no further increase of volume levels past that time; and
WHEREAS, Applicant has agreed to notify the residential buildings surrounding the park at a minimum of one week prior to their event, and to conduct on-site meetings with MSPC two weeks prior to their event to work out operational details and anticipate any concerns; and
WHEREAS, Despite the submission of these materials and their general cooperation and understanding of the terms of compliance, Applicant received two violations from the Department of Health for food safety infractions on the part of volunteer food vendors; and
WHEREAS, As Applicant also received similar violations for their event in 2017, this puts them in violation of Community Board Five's Policy on Madison Square Park Large Events, which results in the denial of support for an event after material non-compliance for two consecutive years; and
WHEREAS, Applicant has acknowledged the full understanding of the violations, and is assembling a remediation plan to submit to the City to establish best practices moving forward to ensure that all volunteers are certified in food safety prior to their inclusion in Applicant’s event, an initiative that Community Board Five applauds, and defers to SAPO to determine if the plan is sufficient for addressing the particular concerns raised by the events in 2017 and 2018; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the permit for a post-parade event for the Sikh
Cultural Society’s post-parade event on Saturday, April 27 on Madison Avenue between East 23rd and 26th
Streets and East 26th Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South; however, Community Board
Five acknowledges that the Applicant has worked to improve the event application and operations in recent
years, and encourages the Applicant to proceed with the submission of their remediation plan to SAPO to
improve any future events.