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Parks & Public Spaces
Application by the East Midtown Partnership for a permit to co-host a Block Party celebrating WorldPride on 55th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues on Friday, June 21, 2019
WHEREAS, New York City is the host of the WorldPride 2019 event as licensed by InterPride, in conjunction with the Stonewall 50 celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant, the East Midtown Partnership, founded in 2002, is focused on improving the quality of life and promoting commercial activity in one of Manhattan’s primary business districts; and
WHEREAS, The proposed event is a one-time event to be held on Friday, June 21, 2019, in conjunction with the city’s hosting of WorldPride and in partnership with the State University of New York (SUNY) for student-centric programming; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant requests a street closure for 55th St between Park and Lexington Avenues on Friday, June 21, 2019, from 7am to 7pm, to allow time to set up and break down the event before and after an outdoor program from noon to 4pm; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has submitted an application and plan for the proposed event, showing ten 10’x10’ tents operated by partner organizations and businesses from the district—including 5 selling food and 5 distributing comfort bags for victims of sexual violence and other resources—a 15’x15’ “Confetti Project” photography tent with an associated clean team, seating provided on loan from the Times Square Alliance, a float/stage, an emergency fire lane, and an unobstructed bike lane; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has planned for amplified-sound operated by a DJ on the float/stage from noon to 4pm; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has contracted with the Doe Fund for street sanitation, with a 5:30pm target of “no trace” remaining of the event; and
WHEREAS, The estimated attendance at this event, comprised of both SUNY students and members of the community, will be from the “high hundreds” to the mid thousands, compared to 6,000 attendees for the Applicant’s annual Halloween event and 5,000 for their annual Lunar New Year event; and
WHEREAS, While this is the first event the Applicant has held consisting of a block closure of 55th St, the Applicant has held numerous successful neighborhood events including annual Halloween and Lunar New Year events to positive reception by the community; and
WHEREAS, Neighbors on the block, including the Central Synagogue on the south side of the street, have been made aware of the event and are in support; and
WHEREAS, The event has been planned in coordination with the Midtown North NYPD precinct, and will have private security personnel onsite as well as NYPD officers; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant responded positively to a suggestion by CB5 to notify the neighborhood of the event by posting in the neighborhood and hand-delivering notification to all affected buildings; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant responded favorably to a suggestion by CB5 to contact both the Department of Transportation and the construction contractor at 425 Park Avenue to ensure that deliveries and construction access are coordinated with the hours of street closure; and
WHEREAS, While there are multiple hotels operating within the zone of street closure, hotels frequently adapt to temporary street closures; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant agreed, despite the earlier time requested on the application, to delay closure of the street to 9am to avoid interfering with rush hour traffic while maintaining at least three hours for event setup prior to noon, which the Applicant says will be sufficient; and
WHEREAS, The Application is for a one-time, non-recurring event in conjunction with New York’s 2019 hosting of WorldPride, and should not be interpreted as setting any precedent for weekday street closure for the purpose of a block party; and
WHEREAS, As the proposed event will be open to the public and is classified officially as a Block Party, this public event will not violate the City’s existing moratorium on new Street Fairs; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the Application by East Midtown Partnership for a permit to co-host a Block Party celebrating WorldPride on 55th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues on Friday, June 21, 2019.