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Parks & Public Spaces
Application from Madison Square Park Conservancy for “Holiday Tiny House Event,” to be held in Madison Square Park from December 4th-7th, 2019
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2019, the following resolution passed with a vote of 31 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The Madison Square Park Conservancy has submitted a permit application to the Parks Department for the “Fjallraven Tiny House Event,” a commercial event to be held in the southwest gravel section of Madison Square Park near the Holiday Tree from December 4th through 7th, 2019; and
WHEREAS, Set-up would begin early AM on December 4; to be removed from the park by 6:00am on December 8, 2019; and
WHEREAS, The Event would begin at 8:00 AM on December 4 and run until 5:00 pm on December 7, to coincide with the holiday tree lighting celebration; and
WHEREAS, The Tiny House will only be open to the public from 8:00am-5:00pm during each day of the event; and
WHEREAS, The Swedish brand Fjallraven will set up a Tiny House (32’ long by 8’ wide, with a slanted roof extending from 9’-13’ high), to be decorated by Applicant with holiday lights to match the adjacent tree, and to showcase gifts for the holidays as the main sponsor for the Holiday Tree Lighting event, and small giveaways to visitors (i.e. candy canes); and
WHEREAS, Complimentary coffee, tea, hot chocolate and limited Swedish snacks will also be served, only from the hours of 8:00am-10:30am & 2:00pm-5:00pm on the days of the event, including the Holiday Tree Celebration on December 5th; and
WHEREAS, No merchandise will be sold on site; and
WHEREAS, The event has a waste management plan to remove garbage and recycling; and
WHEREAS, Signage will be limited to a sponsor logo for Fjallraven that will be small and not obtrusive,
and will appear on the side of the Tiny House, with no additional signage; and
WHEREAS, A limited number of brand ambassadors will be present to explain to members of the public who approach the Tiny House what is available inside, but will not be overtly soliciting the public outside of the area of the structure, in response to community concerns; and
WHEREAS, The Conservancy will monitor any queue management needs to ensure a seamless experience for all park goers during this Holiday Event; and
WHEREAS, The proposed sponsorship event replaces prior years’ nearly month-long activation of a Gingerbread house at the same location, but at the same level of revenue for the Conservancy, resulting in a significant net decrease in the number of days of sponsor use of the gravel area; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five believes that the nature and conduct of the event as proposed is consistent with its past approvals for holiday events held in the Park in past years; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application from Madison Square Park Conservancy for “Holiday Tiny House Event,” to be held in Madison Square Park from December 4th-7th, 2019.