Sunday, June 13, 2021

[Updated] Today's show in Tompkins Square Park was canceled

This afternoon's free concert in Tompkins Square Park, featuring headliners the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, has been canceled. 

The organizers – The Shadow — had their previously approved permit revoked by the Parks Department after the April 24 show. A lawyer for the organizers had been negotiating the return of the permits. 

And the NYPD and the Parks Enforcement Patrol were there to make sure the show didn't go on.
Stay tuned for an alternate date and further details. 

The screening of Rachel Amodeo's 1993 film "What About Me" was expected to still happen at sundown.

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Updated 4 p.m. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was in the Park and photographed a few of the bands set to play. Today was to be the debut of Girl Dick...
Hello Mary was set to open the show...
Both bands are now on a bill in Greenpoint at 113 Franklin St. starting at 8 p.m. ($5 cover!). 

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As a PS... There was a musician playing with a small amp in the center of the Park just after noon. He was not part of the scheduled show... and the Parks Enforcement Patrol on duty allowed him to play...
Photo by Steven

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love seeing bands but I am also worn out by all the nonstop noise in the park. Sometimes I want to sit and not be entertained but there is always someone playing now. They are all competing for attention. You can't read or talk to someone in the park anymore in the afternoon. Too bad I am not a morning person.

Anonymous said...

There used to be a guy NONSTOP Drumming in Madison Square Park. Annoying beyond belief..Sometimes we all need some peace and quiet in this VERY Noisy city.

CHRIS FLASH said...

It was not a matter of not acquiring the necessary permits. It was a matter of having our previously-approved permits REVOKED by the Parks Dept after Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, who happened into the park on April 24 and didn't like what he saw FREAKED OUT and tweeted the mayor and parks commissioner, demanding they DO SOMETHING about our "super spreader event", so the city over-reacted.

Funny that Harvey had NO problem with the 500+ people attending a basketball tournament / hip-hop event on the other side of Tompkins Square Park, along Tenth Street. Hmmmm....

Up till Saturday night, the city was negotiating the return of permits with our lawyer, but they reneged.

We had La Plaza as a back-up, but, apparently, that wonderful park, created and cared for by the COMMUNITY, not Parks, is under the control of Parks, which dictates EVERYTHING they can do there before the city gives the land to another politically-connected developer.

Beacon, NY said...

Do you know if anyone reading EV Grieve leaves the city during the weekends of the warmer months?

There are a few scenic parks north of NYC with plenty of peace and quiet. Transportation costs aren't cost prohibitive.

Dani said...

Happy to not have loud bands play in the park - they can play in non-residential zones like the East River park or amphitheater there - plenty of space by riverside - and people get the choice to opt in as opposed to it all being forced on everyone.

Anonymous said...

Kinda bothers me that the police are all over this, shutting it down, but letting that wannabe promoter "David 'Shaman' Ortiz" stage raves in Washington Square Park that are stirring up international news coverage, totally out of control. (He's playing the lazy "Karens" and "A.C.A.B." card to advance his ego.)

Sonya said...

Last year, all the music in the park saved my sanity. Boo parks police! I don’t know what political nonsense is going on. I have been missing the jazz group something fierce. And Pinc Louds is nothing but joy. The plenitude and diversity of our artists are what make NY great.

Anonymous said...

Good one. Yes! Live in the country if you like quiet weekends. Live in the city if you like music, art, and other people.

Anonymous said...

You chose to live near a public park and one of the only open spaces in the area. Why force people to haul it to a way less central public location without public transportation. Your rent could probably afford a nice quiet calm place elsewhere. Otherwise public. Parks with limited respectful crowds and limited hours don't screw up your life. Accept the public and dont regulate

noble neolani said...

Beacon, it is so obvious that you work for either to City of Beacon's tourism board or worst, a real-estate agent with property to move there. Please stop using this blog as your platform.

Beacon, NY said...

I live in the EV and in Beacon. They're both trendy places for a similar demographic that finds other conducive places trendy like Soho, Dumbo and Cobble Hill in the city and Kingston and Hudson in a more relaxed and scenic countryside setting.

Dani said...

So your solution is that I should move out of my residence since I’d like the option to sleep at nights in my own home? And because you can't take a five minute walk to the river from the park -yes, that's how long it takes. And yes there's public transportation, try the M14D if you live on the west side? It's beautiful out there, try it sometime. AND yes I love PincLouds - Claudi agrees with me about the noise levels, she lives near the park too. Amplified music has always been illegal without permits - it's not a new thing - and the park was always closed at nights, not a "new" regulation.

Anonymous said...

@chris flash yes it's fucked up that the parks department suddenly has some sort of control on community gardens, wtf!!!!

Anonymous said...

This is so wrong, and disturbing how many people are falling in line to have cops control what happens in our public park. Organizers of this event did everything right, following the rules, and obtained a permit, as they have done for years. Now the permits for multiple shows have been revoked, which makes no sense. Also, these shows shut down at 6pm, they don't go on into the night. The park is for EVERYONE which includes people you may not like doing things you may not like. I'm not a punk fan, so I usually take a walk during a show if I don't like it. No big deal. The fact NYPD is picking and choosing who gets targeted and who doesn't should concern everyone.

Anonymous said...

We need more quiet.... not punk bands constantly..

Anonymous said...

Most commuter trains have quiet cars. Why does everything have to black and white (No loud music vs. my personal favorite - move to the 'burbs)? What happened to compromise? One weekend music is allowed according to noise level ordinances and the other no-music rules are enforced? Post signs, plan accordingly.

Anonymous said...

CHRIS FLASH:

The Parks Dept oversees Greenthumb, which most community gardens are a part of, nothing new, this has been for many years.
Public land owned by the city that volunteers take care of.

The gardens also often have too much noise. Do I want experimental jazz every weekend July and August?? NO! Doubt most do. Most want quiet.

We all need SOME peace/Quiet after working all week, not mediocre live music.

I think most visiting or residing in Alphabet City prefer to read/chat w/ friends than that music.

Never really any bands that are of note that anyone wants to hear.. except a few punks bands for people who only come to park for that... and leave all their trash as well!

JAMES said...

Beacon:

There are a few scenic parks north of NYC with plenty of peace and quiet. Transportation costs aren't cost prohibitive.

Which parks do you recommend? how to get to without a car? Thanks!

Beacon, NY said...

@ James

There's a lot to unpack here.

I'm going to recommend scenic areas along the eastern banks of the Hudson River accessible by riding the Metro North's Hudson Line that takes off from Grand Central Terminal at 42nd St.

You could start off with the Wave Hill Garden that has plenty of green space and great views of the Hudson River and the GW Bridge from a distance. It's located in Riverdale which is still within the city boundaries.

More info here:

https://www.wavehill.org/visit/admission-tickets

Further up, you can visit the City of Yonkers in the Lower Hudson Valley and stop by one of the riverfront parks. More info here from the Scenic Hudson website which has a lot of info on the other other parks that are further up including where I'm at in Beacon.

https://www.scenichudson.org/explore-the-valley/scenic-hudson-parks/esplanade-park/

A northern section of Yonkers has a free park that is also conservancy. More info here:

https://www.untermyergardens.org/visit.html

The City of Peekskill in Northern Westchester has a decent park that has great views of the river which is across from Bear Mountain State Park. I recommend Peekskill if you don't want to go beyond an hour in travel time to a scenic area north of Manhattan. There's also restaurants along the park including the popular Peekskill Brewery, and its craft beers are being sold at Alphabet City Beer on Ave C in the EV, last time I check which was in 2019. There is also a cruise company if you want to tour the Hudson River which takes you to see the Westpoint Military Academy.

Info here: https://www.visitwestchesterny.com/listing/peekskill-riverfront-green-park/82/

The cruise company in Peekskill is this:

https://www.nyboatco.com/

Beyond an hour travel time, you could stop by the Village of Cold Spring which has a nice area along the river with its great views and a quaint Main Street with shops and restaurants. There's a free museum that features Italian Art along some highway that offers free shuttle service to and from the train station.

More info here:

https://www.magazzino.art/museum-visitor-information

Beyond the Village of Cold Spring is the funky City of Beacon which is 90 minutes away and further up there is the Walkway Over the Hudson in the City of Poughkeepsie which is 2 hrs away, the last stop on the Metro North. It's the longest pedestrian bridge out there that gives you great views of the Hudson River and the Catskills mountains from a distance and the bridge that takes you to a state park on the other side.

Here are the Metro North rail ticket prices for the stations along the Hudson Line.

https://new.mta.info/document/20051

John Penley said...

Can anyone show evidence that the Hardcore show Harvey Epstein and others called a superspreader spread even one case of Covid. NO !! Stop being Trump style fake news and QAnon conspiracy lie spreaders.

CHRIS FLASH said...

Anonymous 1:23:

I never said that we or anyone should use community gardens for concerts/loud music, etc. Still, an occasional musical event in a community garden is not a bad thing, is it?

Let's be clear: We wanted our event ONLY in Tompkins, which, to us, is SACRED ground. We shed BLOOD there defending our park during three big police riots (1988, 1990 + 1991) and countless skirmishes with cops who were being mis-used by the city in order to pave the way for the hyper-gentrification to come.

LaPlaza was simply a back-up plan for June 13 in the event that the Parks Dept reneged on their agreement to restore permits in time for the June 13 event, which they did.

Finally, when we host our events, we ALWAYS have crews that clean up ALL trash, whether left by attendees or by park goers not present for our events. After we leave, you canNOT tell that we had just had an event there.

Anonymous said...

I spent my 80s youth seeing punk bands in clubs at night. I can’t get into the daytime shows outside in a park. That’s not punk rock. I would rather listen to records at home. The kids don’t know what they are missing out on living in today’s city with no real clubs left.

Seedyfilms said...

What a miserable existence when your job is to make sure fun doesn’t happen in the park.

JAMES said...

Thank you Beacon for your info!

Beacon, NY said...

@ James

One last thing:

You might want to explore Beacon's funky Main St which is always a draw year most of the year. The place is always packed in the warmer months.

This is a very good video that captures a busy street in a small scenic city surrounded by nature with Mt. Beacon in the background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXH6wTuZxwE&list=PLN6w2e1SxE1kSieYsZvLzUX3coEcXY0YX

It sometimes known as the Williamsburg north of the city. We could called it another EV if wanted to, just a different name but a similar environment.

Anonymous said...

Honestly I dunno what these people are on lmao imagine moving to the East Village and complaining about Tompkins being loud. THEY moved there, the culture doesn’t have to work around them. It should be the other way around