<< Back
Parks & Public Spaces
Application from Madison Square Park Conservancy for “Bottega Veneta Ice Sculpture,” a commercial event in Madison Square Park from February 11th—18th, 2021
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, February 11, 2021, the following resolution passed with a vote of 43 in favor; 0 opposed; 4 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The Madison Sq. Park Conservancy (“Applicant”), in association with Bottega Veneta, the event sponsor, has submitted an application to hold a commercial event involving the installation of an ice sculpture in the shape of a Bottega Veneta handbag in Madison Square Park from Thursday, Feb 11th through Thursday, Feb 18th; and
WHEREAS, The sculpture will be approximately 10' high x 4' deep x 10' long, and located on the western gravel area in the southwest section of the park; and
WHEREAS, The load-in and assembly will take place on the successive nights of 2/11 and 2/12 to avoid crowd gathering (a COVID-19 precaution); and
WHEREAS, The ice carving work will take place in the early evenings of 2/11 and 2/12 to avoid any neighborhood disruption, crowd gathering, and any nighttime noise to adjacent residents; and
WHEREAS, The ice blocks will be covered with a tarp during the February 12th daytime hours to avoid crowding and for safety reasons; and
WHEREAS, The sculpture will open to the public at 8 am on Saturday, February 13th and remain on display through February 18th; and
WHEREAS, The sculpture will be erected on a platform containing a tray to capture any melt water should the temperature rise above freezing; and
WHEREAS, The sculpture will be evaluated each day for structural integrity; and
WHEREAS, There will be a 2-person security team at all times, as well as stanchions erected at night, to allow for any needed crowd control; and
WHEREAS, There will be no sound amplification, use of a generator, or giveaways associated with the event; and
WHEREAS, The proposed event includes no lighting; however, Applicant is prepared to install ambient LED lighting on the base of the sculpture, to minimally illuminate the sculpture itself for any potential security or safety reasons that could possibly arise outside of daylight hours; and
WHEREAS, The name Bottega Veneta etched into the base of the sculpture is the only promotional aspect of the event and the only signage; and
WHEREAS, The only photography will be of the finished sculpture upon its completion, for social media use; and
WHEREAS, The proposed event is of minimal negative impact to the public space, and is one of four marketing events that the Applicant is contractually allowed to host in 2021 under the terms of its agreement with the Parks Department, providing critical funding for maintenance of the Park, which is such a respite for the community; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application from Madison Square Park Conservancy for “Bottega Veneta Ice Sculpture,” a commercial event in Madison Square Park from February 11th—18th, 2021.