The anti-poverty organization Global Citizen hosts an annual music festival at Central Park in New York City. This year, it was headlined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ms. Lauryn Hill — and alongside some 30,000 attendees, it drew torrential downpours, causing extensive damage to the park's famous Great Lawn area [via The New York Times].
According to a statement from the Central Park Conservancy, a third of the Great Lawn was "fully destroyed" by this year's Global Citizen Festival on September 23 due to the combination of weather, foot traffic and the heavy equipment used to put on large-scale concerts.
The popular 12-acre oval will now be closed for six months, with its reopening slated for April 2024. (The NYT clarified that the area is usually closed from November through April for routine maintenance, but damage from the festivities has forced it to close six weeks early.)
"The Central Park Conservancy is very disappointed that the iconic Great Lawn is now closed and unavailable for New Yorkers to enjoy this fall," the Central Park Conservancy's statement continued.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer estimated that it will cost $1 million USD to repair the damage to the park, which is within her district. She wrote a letter to the city's mayor asking that the festival be moved out of Central Park next year, adding that she has never been a fan of the event "because so little, if any, of the grants are allocated to non-profits in New York City."
As extreme weather events continue to proliferate in the ongoing climate crisis, it's safe to assume that we'll keep seeing more incidents like this. This year's Burning Man was also subjected to excessive precipitation, with flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary leaving thousands stranded in the desert.
According to a statement from the Central Park Conservancy, a third of the Great Lawn was "fully destroyed" by this year's Global Citizen Festival on September 23 due to the combination of weather, foot traffic and the heavy equipment used to put on large-scale concerts.
The popular 12-acre oval will now be closed for six months, with its reopening slated for April 2024. (The NYT clarified that the area is usually closed from November through April for routine maintenance, but damage from the festivities has forced it to close six weeks early.)
"The Central Park Conservancy is very disappointed that the iconic Great Lawn is now closed and unavailable for New Yorkers to enjoy this fall," the Central Park Conservancy's statement continued.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer estimated that it will cost $1 million USD to repair the damage to the park, which is within her district. She wrote a letter to the city's mayor asking that the festival be moved out of Central Park next year, adding that she has never been a fan of the event "because so little, if any, of the grants are allocated to non-profits in New York City."
As extreme weather events continue to proliferate in the ongoing climate crisis, it's safe to assume that we'll keep seeing more incidents like this. This year's Burning Man was also subjected to excessive precipitation, with flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary leaving thousands stranded in the desert.
