Why can concert promoters use Central Park, but WE can't?

[No Mandate Here.]

I don't live in NYC, so haven't recently heard of any concerts, but I am sure that there have been some. When was the big Simon and Garfunkel concert? Don't I remember at least several others? Was the 'grass' ruined then?

[lil-petunia]

1. and who is your mayor?

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

2. Insurance, most likely

Promoters insure against damage and possibly injury.

[No Mandate Here.]

3. If I were going, I'd chip in a buck for insurance.

I guess the underwriters are usually the wrong party?

Also, those who are going to incite, as per Sargent's cartoon today, wouldn't pay...

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[Stephanie]

4. That concert was years ago - maybe ten years?

Then the city rented the Great Lawn out to DISNEY about four or five years ago. The lawn was closed to New Yorkers for days while they installed a giant video screen several stories high to show a screening of Pocahontas or something. The screening was invitation only. Then Disney paid like a million dollars to repair the grass, and the city put in a new watering system etc. I think that's when the policy changed.

I read in the NY Daily News that the Parks Conservancy has a secret policy that allows only 6 big shows a year on the lawn - two NY Philharmonic, 2 Metropolitan Opera, and 2 something else. I believe the Conservancy is a private foundation that supports the park through fundraising.

Bottom line? Central Park has been privatized to benefit the rich who live nearby. They don't want throngs of scruffy protestors wandering through their neighborhood. They prefer Philharmonic lovers. IMO.