Central Park in New York City is one of the most popular parks in the world and as we profiled in April, the “backyard for millions of people” who live in or near the city. One of the more popular areas of the park had to close to public use recently because of rain and event damage from a concert.
The Central Park Conservancy, a group that operates the park for the city, announced that the Great Lawn, a 12-acre oval of green space, will remain closed until at least April 2024 depending on how the area recovers from the damage. The space is typically closed for maintenance from November to April, according to a Yahoo article.
Reports said that one-third of the Great Lawn space will require reseeding due to heavy rains in the area, foot traffic and machinery required to stage events. In the aftermath of the closing, officials lamented that the Global Citizen Festival held on Sept. 23 wasn’t canceled due to the rains that already saturated the Great Lawn area beyond normal standards.
Events are canceled at the park when conditions are deemed unsafe for attendees, but the decision was made to go forward with the event despite rain during the event and before the event. The festival annually brings 60,000 people to Central Park but the weather limited crowds to half that this year.
Dave Lubach is executive editor for the facilities market.
