Showing posts with label Fashion Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fashion Week. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Fashion Week Packs Its Bags While Community Waits For Park Restitution Plan



February 22, 2015.  Coming Soon - A Public Park.  Fashion Week, and other events like this are now prohibited from returning to Damrosch Park according to the far-reaching court ordered settlement reached in December.  The park, much of it destroyed to make way for private events, must also be restored.   The defendants however have not produced several key court mandated items required under the agreement. The Parks Department and Lincoln Center were supposed to appear on Monday night at CB 7's Parks Committee meeting but the item was removed from the agenda because the city and the arts group were not ready.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)  Click on images to enlarge 
February 19, 2015. Damrosch Park Convention Center.  For years the Bloomberg administration allowed Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) to rent out the entire 2.4 acre Damrosch Park to various private clients including Fashion Week (above) which they did for up ten months of the year.   These actions constituted an illegal alienation of Damrosch Park in violation of the New York State Public Trust Doctrine and other laws.     

 "IMG Fashion Week shall vacate the premises and remove all tents and other Fashion Week equipment from the park," according to the settlement, which was ordered by Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan.


Manhattan 

By Geoffrey Croft

Thursday marked the last day that the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week could ever be held in Damroach Park.   

Since then crews have been dismantling the massive tents that have illegally occupied the 2.4 acre public park for the past 5 years.

The runway exodus did not come voluntarily. It is part of a settlement agreement reached with the de Blasio administration after area residents and environmental groups were forced to sue in order to get the park back.

The semiannual function was part of a series of private events that Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts (LCPA) was allowed to host in a deal it struck with the Bloomberg administration.   Lincoln Center had been renting out the park for private events for up ten months of the year.  They are also allowed to keep the money and divert it from the City's General Fund.   



















On Thursday people filed into the Fashion Week tents in Damroach Park for the last time. 


By Sunday an aluminum frame was all that remained from the main entrance to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week located at Damrosch Park's Northeast side. 


Private events in Damrosch Park will now be the exception not the rule according to the far-reaching settlement reached in December between plaintiffs. 

 In May 2013 plaintiffs, including NYC Park Advocates, Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, the founder of Friends of Damrosch Park and other individual neighborhood park users were forced to sue over the illegal use of Damrosch Park for non-park purposes in an effort to restore the park and return it back to the community.

One clueless fashion designer,  Nicole Miller, speculated a few days ago that the controversy was over area residents not being able to get taxis.

While the tents are being permanently removed plaintiffs and community representatives are still waiting for the Parks Department and Lincoln Center to comply with several key issues in the stipulation agreement more than two months after it was signed in December. 

• LCPA was supposed to provide CB7 and Plaintiffs with a copy of its annual January submission to the Parks Department listing proposed special events in Damrosch Park.  To date nothing has been received. 

• Planning for the Landscape Plan was supposed to begin in January 2015 but that has not been done as Lincoln Center is still looking for a landscape contractor.   LCPA and the Parks Department  are required to consult with and solicit comments from the Community Board prior to the spring 2015 planting season. During this period, LCPA will also, as part of its overall community relations program, consult with and solicit comments from a range of community organizations in the Lincoln Center neighborhood as well as with the plaintiff organizations, CESD and NYCPA.

The Parks Department and Lincoln Center were supposed to appear at Monday night's CB7's Parks Committee meeting but the item was removed from the agenda because the city and the arts group were not ready.  The reason -  Lincoln Center is still looking for a landscape contractor - three months after the settlement agreement. 



Over the weekend crews began dismantling the massive tents that illegally occupied Damroach Park for the past 5 years. 




Neighborhood groups are supposed to have meaningful input before spring planting begins, to date this has not occurred.  The next Parks Committee meeting is on March 16th.

"I am concerned any delays will leave planters with makeshift plantings thereby allowing for ongoing abuse by trailers and tents next season,"  said plaintiff Cleo Dana of Friends of Damrosch Park.

•  Under the terms of the settlement Lincoln Center will also be required to produce the secret  "sublicense" agreement between Fashion Week and Lincoln Center which lays out the financial arrangements. Lincoln Center received a $ 17.2 million dollar payday over five years which was diverted from the City General Fund.

•  As per the Stipulation Agreement LCPA was supposed to provide a cell number of an emergency contact person who would immediately respond to complaints in Damrosch Park. That never happened either.

A Fordham University student said that sound from Fashion Week could be heard throughout the dorms.

Cleo Dana said the noise on opening day of Fashion Week on Thursday, February 12th was deafening.

"The decibel level was outrageous." she said.  "My China was rattling on my table on the 26th floor a block away.  And as usual residents had no recourse.  It makes sense that they would have provided (the contact) before the event, but they didn't. These people don't care." 

Past complaints including noise,  illegal parking,  idling trucks,  and park destruction were routinely blown off by city officials.  

"When I complained in the past I was told it was a Mayor's event, parks rules do not apply," she said. 

"Neighbors are tired of calling 311and the 20th precinct with no results. I longer call 311, it's  a waste of time."

For weeks Cleo has been pressing various Parks Department officials to get answers, but those efforts have been fruitless.  


No more Mercedes-Benz allowed in the park. 


Attendees of Fashion Week in the seized parkland. 


On February 4th she wrote to Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver's Chief of staff Margaret Nelson.  Nelson represented the Parks Department at a City Hall meeting between plaintiffs and defendants in December where she identified herself as "our future liaison contact," Dana said. 

Cleo wrote Nelson saying that she attended a Community Board 7 meeting weeks ago to inquire about the status of outstanding issues regarding the settlement agreement. At the meeting CB 7’s Parks Committee Chairman , Klari Neuwelt, assured her that, as per Plaintiffs’ request,  the “Landscape Plan” will be on the Committee’s Feb. 23rd Agenda. 

She asked Silver's chief of staff to "Kindly confirm that the Plan will be presented," along with providing Lincoln Center’s proposed special events for 2015. 

A couple of days later, on February 6th  Nelson responded saying,   "I will look into these requests and get back to you next week." 

She never did. 

A few days later Steve Simon, Chief of Staff for Manhattan Parks Commissioner Bill Castro called to say that Lincoln Center was “looking” for a landscape contractor and would not be able to present at the February 23 Parks Committee meeting.  

"The Plaintiffs and the community are understandably disappointed that two months after our Settlement Agreement, Lincoln Center is still looking to hire a Landscape Consultant," Cleo wrote to Steve Simon.

"We had assumed that Lincoln Center would present the preliminary mandated “Landscape Plan” at the February Community Board 7 Parks Committee meeting so that Plaintiffs and community organizations could have meaningful “input” before the forthcoming planting season.  As Fashion Week packs up for good, we need to know that serious planting will commence this spring to cover the rubble and barren planters left behind;  temporary cosmetic ”flowering plants”  as in past summers which can then be covered over by trailers and tents later in the year are not acceptable.

May I remind you that the Community Board has not yet received a "copy of its annual January submission to the Parks Department listing proposed special events in Damrosch Park for the coming calendar year” as also stipulated in our Settlement Agreement."

Dispite several requests seeking comment the Mayor's press office refused to acknowledge the requests and the Parks Department press office said they were too busy. 

Sign of the Times. 
February 19, 2015.  The Parks Department owned parking garage that Lincoln Center keeps 100% of the proceeds from remains covered from the tents.   


February 22, 2015.
The skeleton remains of Fashion Week are revealed as crews break down the tents.
The park's lone sign provided support to a Fashion Week tent.  On Sunday a worker leaned on it while colleagues removed equipment from the event.



 (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)  Click on images to enlarge 

 Read More:

Fashion Week Ordered To Leave Lincoln Center - Park To Be Restored In Lawsuit Settlement  
A Walk In The Park - December 18, 2014 - By Geoffrey Croft
WABC - December 18, 2014 - By Tim Fleischer 

New York Daily News - December 18, 2014 -  By Barbara Ross 

New York Post - December 18, 2014 - By Natalie O'Neill and Julia Marsh 

New York Times - December 18, 2014 - By Robin Pogrebin   

Associated Press - December 18, 2014 -  By Leanne Italie  

Crain's New York Busness - December 18, 2014 - By Adrianne Pasquarelli 


AM New York - December 18, 2014 - By Ivan Pereira 

Metro NY - December 18, 2014

CNBC -  December 18, 2014 - By Krystina Gustafson

 New York Magazine -  December 18, 2014 - By Véronique Hyland 

gothamist - December 18, 2014 - Rebecca Fishbein  

 The Hollywood Reporter - December 18, 2014 - By Stephanie Chan

 WNBC - December 18, 2014

A Walk In The Park -  May 22, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft 

A Walk In The Park - February 15, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft

A Walk In The Park - February 6, 2012
A Walk In The Park - September 10, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft


A Walk In The Park - September 11, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

CB 7 Full Board Votes Against Lincoln Center Damrosch Park Use

201206_fashionweekbeforeafter.jpg
Damrosch Park - March 8, 2010 (l) and March 8, 2011 (r.) A Park Not Even In Name Only. Even the Parks Department sign with the iconic leaf logo identifying "Damrosch Park" was premananlty removed from the park when Fashion Week moved in 2010. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)


Manhattan

The Upper West Side's community board voted to give the boot to Fashion Week — amid growing frustration by some locals who are angry the tents take over Damrosch Park behind Lincoln Center, according to DNAinfo.

Community Board 7 voted 33-4 to push Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Parks Department to find a new permanent site for Fashion Week and to consult the board on any future agreements with Lincoln Center about its use. They also demanded the city restore the park to its former "vibrant" state.

“It looks like after a bomb hit,” said CB 7 member Elizabeth Starkey complained at Tuesday night's board meeting, describing the way Damrosch Park looked after February’s Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week moved out.


The mayor's office and the Parks Department did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

The 2.44 acre Parks Department green space — which was leased by the city to Lincoln Center in 2010 under a 10-year contract letting them use it for private events — has sparked a firestorm of controversy.

Critics say it's another example of private industry taking over public space, while fans argue the increased foot traffic and business is good for the Upper West Side.

“[Fashion Week] brings tremendous revenues to this neighborhood," argued board member Michele Parker, who opposed the resolution. "All of these people come and use the restaurants and shops. It is good revenue contribution. And it’s just twice a year. It’s four weeks out of the year."

Damrosch Park Convention Center. For ten months of the year - from mid-August through June - the Bloomberg administration allows Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) to rent out the 2.4 acre Damrosch Park to various clients including Fashion Week (above) as well as keep all the revenue.


Board member Lee Ping Kwan added, “Fashion Week does have a lot of intangible benefits. Fashion Week is like the Olympics, it gives the area a new aura."

But Fashion Week critic Gabriella Rowe said, “Not every business benefits when there are large crowds milling through the streets. Parents with families really need that green space.”

The resolution also calls for restorative landscaping that will bring the park up to the standard of other city parks and for the return of signage indicating Damrosch is a public park and not a private event space.

Board member Robert Espier was hopeful that before the next Fashion Week hits, the Parks Department will improve the park’s condition so that in the hot summer months, he and other locals can find respite there.

“It is excessively hot in Damrosch Park," he said. "You can’t just sit there with a book for a couple of hours. They’ve removed the shade."

The Parks Department chopped down 56 trees at Damrosch Park in the fall of 2010, reportedly to make room for Fashion Week, though agency officials had said the trees would have been removed regardless for Lincoln Center's redevelopment.

Read More:

Locals Vote to Boot Fashion Week from Lincoln Center
DNAinfo - June 6, 2012 - By Emily Frost

gothamist - June 6, 2012 - By Garth Johnston

A Walk In The Park - February 15th, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft


A Walk In The Park - February 6, 2012


A Walk In The Park - September 10, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

A Walk In The Park - September 11, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft





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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Residents Demand Damrosch Park Back - Cease & Letter Sent To City & Lincoln Center



Damrosch Park Convention Center. For ten months of the year - from mid-August through June - the Bloomberg administration allows Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) to rent out the 2.4 acre Damrosch Park to various clients including Fashion Week (above) as well as keep all the revenue. As justification for allowing the park to be illegally seized Bloomberg representatives keep trying to assert that it's alright to take a park for commercial purposes as long as it's during the Winter months. (Apparently the City doesn't realize that Winter doesn't last ten months.)
(Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

As if that bizarre logic isn't enough the administration is also trying to justify the park's use by the private corporation by saying that the tens of millions of dollars being diverted from the city's general fund are going to maintain other areas of Lincoln Center. When it was announced that Fashion Week was moving from Bryant Park to Damrosch Park event organizers boasted they would have 30% more space. They have made good on that promise.















March 8, 2010. Damrosch Park in the Winter time. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.














March 8, 2011. A Park Not Even In Name Only. Even the Parks Department sign with the iconic leaf logo identifying "Damrosch Park" was premananlty removed from the park when Fashion Week moved in 2010. Hundreds of bushes and 67 trees were also removed for the event leaving a barren landscape below.


Manhattan

While it may not have much name recognition, Damrosch Park is inextricably linked to a place that does: Lincoln Center. Nestled into the southwest corner of the center’s campus, the 2.4-acre park is the setting for free outdoor concerts in the summer, as well as a place where performers and neighborhood residents alike go to relax. At least they did, according to the New York Times.


Since 2010, when the New York Fashion Week shows moved to Damrosch Park from Bryant Park, residents say, Damrosch Park has been all but taken over by one special event after another, making it off-limits nearly 10 months of the year. Setup for the spring fashion shows, which take place in September, begins in August; those shows are followed by the Big Apple Circus’s annual show, which runs from mid-October to January; the fall fashion shows are held in February (this year’s end on Thursday); and then there are private parties, also under tents, throughout the spring.
“It’s an assault on the neighborhood,” said Michael Graff, a lawyer who lives in the nearby Alfred condominium tower. He had to shout over the din of generators along West 62nd Street that provided power to a series of white tents for the fashion shows.
On Tuesday, a group of residents and NYC Park Advocates, a nonprofit group, announced that they had sent a “cease and desist” letter to the city and to Lincoln Center demanding that Damrosch Park be returned to its proper use as a city park.
City officials brushed aside the criticism, saying that Damrosch Park was a hard-surface plaza with few visitors in winter. They argued that residents had ample access to nearby parkland, including Central Park, and said that many thousands of New Yorkers were able to enjoy the circus and the fashion shows.
Residents, community activists and environmentalists gathered yesterday for a press conference in front of Damrosch Park's Northeast entrance which is blocked by the enormous two-story high Fashion Week facade and the event's main entrance. (Photo: Robert Caplin for The New York Times)


“Fashion Week generates $865 million in economic activity each year and helps create jobs in one of our city’s most important industries,” said Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
A representative of Lincoln Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference on Tuesday outside Lincoln Center, Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, criticized the city over the terms of its agreement with Lincoln Center, which allows the center to keep all the revenue generated by subleasing the park to outside groups. Fashion Week alone will pay $17.2 million over five years to use the park, Mr. Croft said.
Lincoln Center is also allowed to keep the money from a city-owned parking garage beneath the park, said Reed W. Super, a lawyer representing NYC Park Advocates and several residents. From 2006 to 2010, the garage yielded $26.7 million, he said.
“It’s illegal,” Mr. Croft said. “According to the City Charter, all of that money has to go back to the city’s general fund.”











The Big Apple Circus takes over the entire 2.4 acre park each year from Ocotober to January. (Photo: Cleo Dana)
The group argues that the deal with Lincoln Center amounts to the removal of parkland, a process that only the State Legislature can undertake. The letter said that “whether, how and when any portion of a New York City park may be used for nonpark purposes are decisions to be made by the State Legislature, not the mayor, not the parks department and certainly not Lincoln Center.”
City officials defended the agreement with Lincoln Center, pointing out that the cultural institution was solely responsible for the upkeep of the park and paid to maintain other public areas on its campus, including the signature fountain in its plaza. Lincoln Center, Ms. Wood said, “has spent millions to improve these areas, create new green spaces and program them for public enjoyment.”
Residents and some members of Community Board 7 said that in the past they had not looked forward to the four-month takeover of the park by the Big Apple Circus, but that they had grown used to it. Their frustration mounted, however, when Fashion Week arrived.
“It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Susan Levy, a resident of the Alfred.










March 8, 2010. (before) The City destroyed 54 trees including these above in order to accomodate Fashion Week. Another 11 trees were supposedly transplanted elsewhere though the Parks Department has refused to disclose the locations.









March 19 2011. (After) Clear Cut.











March 8, 2010. (before) David H. Koch Theater in the background.









March 20, 2011. (After) Clear Cut. Trees and bushes removed to make room for commercail uses including projecting imaged of TV personalites on the wall of the Theater.
With the trees removed clients who rent the public park from Lincoln Center are now able to utilize the space for a variety of new exclusive private commercial events services like projecting 25 foot high images of TV actors on the David H. Koch Theater wall as the USA Network did during Upfront Event on May 2, 2011. "Network Upfront’s have begun. USA Network kicked off upfronts with their event held on May 2, 2011 at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center here in New York City and invited members of the press and advertisers to show off their character and help celebrated USA’s fifth year at #1.....

To make way for the Fashion Week tents, the city removed 67 trees from the park.
City officials say that many of the trees that were cut down were in poor health and that their roots were creating cracks in the ceiling of the parking garage. The city has planted 220 trees within a mile radius of the park, while Lincoln Center has installed an additional 88 trees on its campus.
But residents say that a tree half a mile away does not make up for the loss of shade and green in Damrosch Park. “Sadly,” said the letter to city officials and Lincoln Center, “Damrosch Park has been decimated. Even the parks department sign with the iconic leaf logo identifying ‘Damrosch Park’ was removed.”
Mr. Super, the lawyer for NYC Park Advocates, said that litigation was a possibility. “We prefer not to run right into court,” he said.
















Park Purpose? Fashion Week is just one event the City is allowing to occupy Damrosch Park.


Read More:

New York Times - February 14, 2012 - By Lisa W. Foderaro

Report: Lincoln Center Residents Unhappy With Fashion Week Tents
WNBC - February 15, 2012 - By Laurel Pinson

A group of Upper West Side residents claim that Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center is being used illegally for runway shows and other events.
Crain's New York Busness - February 14, 2012 - By Adrianne Pasquarelli

Fashionista - February 15, 2012 - By Hayley Phelan

My Fox - Feburay 22, 2011 - By Linda Schmidt

A Walk In The Park - February 6, 2012


A Walk In The Park - September 10, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

A Walk In The Park - September 11, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft


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