By Gus Saltonstall
Central Park’s Great Lawn will reopen on Saturday (weather permitting) following damage that took place from the Global Citizen Festival at the end of last September.
Over the past few months, the Central Park Conservancy’s Landscape Management team seeded and aerated some of the damaged areas. In more heavily damaged sections, putting down new sod was necessary, a spokesperson from the conservancy told the Rag.
The Great Lawn typically is closed from mid-to-late November through April, but this season’s closure came earlier due to heavy rain, foot traffic, and damage from machinery used for staging the September 23 concert.
At the time, the Conservancy said it was “very disappointed” to be shuttering the Great Lawn section earlier than usual.
The conservancy spokesperson said the group spent $622,000 on the repairs but last week was reimbursed the full amount by Global Citizen. That group, in partnership with the city’s Parks Department, announced on Monday that the festival will return to the Great Lawn this year.
“We look forward to coming back again on September 28 to drive more action and commitments towards ending extreme poverty,” Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, said in a news release. The concert has been hosted annually in Central Park since 2012.
The lineup for this year’s festival has not yet been revealed.
Councilmember Gale Brewer appreciated that Global Citizen paid for the restoration, but told West Side Rag that she still does not believe the concert should take place again on the Great Lawn. In October of 2023, Brewer wrote a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue urging them to find another venue to host the annual festival.
“Great that they paid for the damage as a result of my advocacy but Global Citizen Festival still shouldn’t be in Central Park,” Brewer told the Rag on Monday. “There are many suitable locations in New York City that are not public amenities.”
Donoghue remarked in the press release on Monday that she looked forward to the Global Citizen Festival this year in the park.
“Our public greenspaces are where New Yorkers gather for connection, celebration, and release, and that proud tradition continues as we welcome Global Citizen Festival back to Central Park this September!” Donoghue said.
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