New York City
Page: 3
Organizers behind the Electric Zoo festival on Randalls Island in New York canceled the Friday (Sept. 1) opening day because Department of Parks & Recreation officials would not issue the permits needed to stage the city’s largest EDM festival, promoters behind the event have confirmed with Billboard.
On Friday, when event organizers with Brooklyn venue company and concert promoter Avant Gardner canceled the festival’s first day, they blamed “global supply chain disruptions” in a statement, saying, “These unexpected delays have prevented us from completing the construction of the main stage in time for Day 1.” Organizers did not provide further specifics. A rep for the festival told Billboard on Tuesday (Sept. 5) that the application for the permits had been made well in advance, adding that the permit issue was resolved when the festival finally opened on Saturday.
Touring industry sources, however, say it was due to organizers’ failure to pay vendors from last year’s festival that led to a shortage of experienced concert professionals willing to work at this year’s event. Specifically, the main festival stage caused the most issues early Friday during an inspection of the site hours before the event was scheduled to open. City officials demanded the festival staff fix several safety and security issues before the festival could open. It took organizers more than 24 hours to fix the issues, leading to the festival opening two hours late on Saturday.
The problems did not stop there, though. Making matters worse, many fans did not receive their festival wristbands and tickets in the mail as promised, forcing attendees to queue up for hours to retrieve their tickets. And then on Sunday, organizers were forced to shut down access to the festival after the site reached maximum capacity. Some fans who reached the festival site after the gates were closed decided to jump fences or run through security checkpoints as a group, joining other ticket-holding fans in mad dashes past security staff. Hoping to deter fans from boarding ferries to Randalls Island, festival organizers announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the event had reached maximum capacity for “unknown reasons” and promised “everyone denied entry today will be issued a refund.”
The problems experienced at Electric Zoo mirror ongoing issues at the Avante Gardner venue. Created by owner and creative director Jürgen “Billy” Bildstein in 2017, Avante Gardner is known as a favorite for fans and acts because of its size and flexible space. To state regulators however, the 6,000-capacity venue has been the subject of ongoing legal disputes and investigations by agencies like the New York State Liquor Authority over overcrowding and drug use since 2016, according to court records. On Aug. 22, liquor authority chair and commissioner Lily Fan testified that Avant Gardner “couldn’t care less what people do in their establishment so long as they made money.”
The price tag for this year’s chaotic festival — including refund costs to fans who didn’t make it in, as well as paying Friday night performers The Chainsmokers, Excision and Kx5 their full fees — could total $25 million, according to former insiders at SFX Entertainment, which owned the festival from 2013 to 2022.
Electric Zoo was originally launched in 2009 by founders Mike Bindra and Laura De Palma and grew to be the East Coast’s biggest electronic festival, always taking place over Labor Day weekend. In June 2022, Bildstein led the purchase of Electric Zoo from LiveStyle, a holding company created in the aftermath of SFX Entertainment’s bankruptcy in 2015. Bildstein agreed to pay $15 million for the festival property, Billboard reported at the time, paying about half the money in cash and while agreeing to a convertible debt note to cover the unpaid portion of the purchase.
Avant Gardner staged the 2022 festival and racked up debt with a number of talent agencies and vendors, sources tell Billboard, leading to delays building out the festival site in 2023 that were partially to blame for the permit delays.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams suggested the city will launch an investigation into Electric Zoo’s organizers for going beyond the festival’s approved capacity. The New York Police Department estimated event organizers oversold the festival’s 42,500-person capacity limit by 7,000 tickets on Sunday.
“It’s unfortunate that the organizers wanted to turn our city into a zoo, and we were not going to allow that to happen,” Adams said during an NYPD briefing on Tuesday. “And we will be dealing with them in the next few days based on their behavior and actions.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty
New York City is throwing Hip-Hop a huge birthday bash throughout its five boroughs, as Mayor Eric Adams announced a series of block parties that will be held next month.
On Thursday, Mayor Adams held a press conference at City Hall to announce the 5×5 Block Party Series, which will be held in each of the city’s five boroughs. They will be thrown by the city in conjunction with ITSALLBLACKMUSIC PRESENTS. Each will feature a lineup of DJs as well as food vendors, artists, and educational and entertainment talks in prime locations essential to the history of the culture.
[embedded content]
Mayor Adams was joined at the press conference by Eric B and Boogie Down Productions founder and MC, KRS-One. The icon “will collaborate with the city as well to help curate and perform at the block parties,” as expressed in a statement released later by the city. The “Outta Here” artist even kicked a freestyle for the gathered crowd at the behest of Adams.
The first of the block parties will take place on August 5th at Fulton Street and Washington Avenue in Brooklyn. The location is known for being a block away from the house where rapper The Notorious B.I.G. grew up. The second will be in Queens on August 6th, at Vernon Boulevard and 41st Avenue near the Queensbridge Houses where Nas and Mobb Deep grew up. The birthplace of Hip-Hop, 1520 Sedgwick in The Bronx, will have its own celebration on Aug. 12th. Dates and locations for Manhattan and Staten Island are expected to be announced soon.
The lineups for each block party haven’t been announced yet, but This comes on the heels of the city announcing that there will be 50 murals created across the city in collaboration with LISA Project NYC. The city is also working with Pixis Drones to create light shows with “iconic Hip-Hop imagery” at each party, which will run until 9:30 PM.
“New York should be celebrating a genre that we created,” Adams, who calls himself “the Hip-Hop Mayor”, said. “We raised it on the streets of New York, and it has gone out to cascade throughout the entire globe.” He continued, “This summer we’re going to do more than reminisce on hip-hop, we’re going to celebrate it and elevate it. So I encourage New Yorkers to step into the world where hip-hop is on our blocks this summer.”
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Ira L. Black – Corbis / Getty
New York City has agreed to pay out over $13 million in a settlement with protesters over their treatment during arrests by police in 2020.
On Wednesday (July 19th), the settlement amount of $13.7 million was agreed to by city officials. The settlement is in response to a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of 1,300 individuals who were arrested and/or beaten by members of the New York Police Department during protests over the killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Once approved by a judge, the settlement would rank among the most expensive ever recorded. Other cities are in the process of negotiating their own settlements with those who filled streets across the country in outrage.
“Today’s settlement is historic, and I’m very proud that it will bring some sense of justice to nearly 1,400 people who took to the streets and put their bodies on the line against police brutality,” attorney Wylie Stecklow said with other attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild representing the plaintiffs in a press conference at Foley Square in lower Manhattan afterward. Plaintiffs described their treatment in testimony during the two years of litigation to the press, including “kettling” or forcibly boxing people into a tight space and having zip ties placed on them until their hands turned purple as described by Adam Sow. “It was so disorganized but so intentional,” they said. “They seemed set on traumatizing everyone.”
If approved, each plaintiff in the suit would be slated to receive $9,950. There is another class action settlement that was announced in March which would award over $21,000 to those who were arrested by the NYPD at one protest in the Bronx. Over 600 other people have filed suits against the city, costing over $12 million to date. The city has denied any unconstitutional practices. “There is no history — or present or future — of unconstitutional policing,” Georgia Pestana, an attorney for the city, wrote in a legal filing. “There is no frequent deprivation of constitutional rights.” The Law Department of the city released a statement saying, “The NYPD has improved numerous practices to address the challenges it faced at protests during the pandemic. This settlement was in the best interests of all parties.”
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Variety / Getty
of the Exonerated Five has been declared the winner of his New York City Council election, capping off a surging campaign.
On Wednesday (July 5th), the city’s Board of Elections released the results of its completed ranked-choice voting tally which began after general voting ended last Tuesday. The tally showed that Salaam won 64 percent of the vote, an overwhelming amount compared to the 36 percent of the vote for the veteran state assembly member Inez Dickens. Another state assembly member, Al Taylor, was eliminated in the third round of the voting count.
“This is a victory for justice, dignity, and decency for the Harlem community we love,” Mr. Salaam said in a statement after the results were posted. “It’s a victory in support of not turning our backs on those in need, for saying we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers and for saying the only way for all of us to thrive is to believe in the promise we all have.”
Salaam’s win assures him of a seat on the City Council, replacing incumbent Kristin Richardson Jordan. The politician, whose democratic socialist policies brought her high scrutiny, dropped out in mid-May. Dickens, who represented the district for years before taking an assembly seat, had received far more institutional support for her campaign, even getting the only endorsement in the primary election season from Mayor Eric Adams.
The 49-year-old New York native spoke out about his experience being one of five Black and Brown teens wrongly convicted in the assault and rape of a woman jogger in Central Park in 1989. The case grabbed national attention, with future former President Donald Trump excoriating the teens asking for the death penalty to be given to the teens. Salaam would be released in 1997 and the Exonerated Five would be cleared of wrongdoing in 2002 after DNA tests confirmed another man was the assailant.
Salaam is expected to pursue moderate agenda plans during his time in office, focusing on issues of the lack of social services and affordable housing. “The problem that we are experiencing in Harlem right now is that we are being pushed out,” Mr. Salaam said to the New York Times. “They’re saying that we’re leaving, but the truth of the matter is that we are being priced out and therefore we are being pushed out.”
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Dave Kotinsky / Getty
Yusef Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Five, won his primary election to the New York City Council in a strong fashion.
As the results of the Democratic primary for the City Council’s 9th District came in at 11 P.M. on Tuesday night (June 27th), the 49-year-old author and justice activist was leading state Assembly members Inez Dickens and Al Taylor with more than 50% of the vote. Dickens and Taylor netted 25% and 15% of that vote, respectively. Kristin Richardson Jordan, the incumbent who dropped out of the race unexpectedly but was still on the ballot, came in last but earned 10% of the vote.
Salaam gathered with his supporters at Harlem Tavern, entering to raucous applause. In a speech he gave to the crowd which was covered by Jeff Coltin of City & State NY, he said: “What has happened on this campaign has restored my faith in knowing that I was born for this. I am not a seasoned politician. So therefore this was not politics as usual.”
In being one of the five Black and brown teens – the others being Antron McCay, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise – falsely accused and convicted of assaulting and raping Trisha Melli in 1989, Salaam’s experience served as fuel for his life as a justice advocate after he and the others were exonerated after another man confessed to the crime. That story drew many in the Harlem district to back his campaign. The win guarantees that Salaam will serve on the City Council for two two-year terms, as there is no Republican candidate slated for the district.
He referenced that situation and the 1989 newspaper advertisement by Donald Trump calling for the death penalty in their case, although he deigned to call out the former president by name. “This campaign has been about those who have been counted out, those who have been forgotten,” Salaam said in his speech. “I am here because, Harlem, you believed in me.”
There was the possibility of Salaam potentially going through a second round of counting votes due to New York’s ranked-choice voting system, but the lead that he holds makes it mathematically impossible for Dickens and Taylor to overcome. The 73-year-old Dickens, who scored the only endorsement by Mayor Eric Adams in any City Council election this primary, reportedly called Salaam to concede later that evening.
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Pacific Press / Getty
A grand jury has indicted Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely on a New York subway train last month.
On Wednesday (June 14th), grand jurors in Manhattan returned an indictment against Penny. The exact charges were not revealed, but are expected to be announced once the indictment is unsealed. Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter last month and turned himself over to authorities. He would be released on a $100,000 bond afterward.
A representative for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment on the indictment when contacted by the press. “I appreciate DA Bragg conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Jordan Neely. Like I said when the DA first brought charges, I have the utmost faith in the judicial process, and now that the Grand Jury has indicted Daniel Penny, a trial and justice can move forward,” said Mayor Eric Adams in a statement.
Lawyers for Neely’s family applauded the grand jury’s decision, issuing a statement saying that it was “the right result for the wrong he committed”. “Daniel Penny did not have the right to be the judge, jury, and executioner,” they also said. In their statement, lawyers for the 24-year-old former Marine said that “it should be noted that the standard of proof in a grand jury is very low and there has been no finding of wrongdoing. We’re confident that when a trial jury is tasked with weighing the evidence, they will find Daniel Penny’s actions on that train were fully justified.”
The indictment comes six weeks after May 1st when Neely boarded a northbound F train, appearing to be erratic and yelling about being unhoused. Penny grabbed the 30-year-old in a chokehold along with two other passengers, bringing him to the floor of the train. A bystander took video footage showing Penny having Neely in that chokehold for several minutes as he struggled. Neely would be pronounced dead after being hospitalized, and the medical examiner declared his death a homicide due to compression of the neck. Penny has maintained that he was acting in self-defense.
The case has shone a light on the serious societal divide, as protests ensued days after Neely’s death demanding justice. Right-wing networks and publications dubbed Penny a hero and “Good Samaritan”, including Republican presidential candidates. Penny’s lawyers stated that a crowdfunding campaign for him has raised $2.8 million so far for his defense.
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was met with displays of disapproval at a law school graduation, with some publicly turning their backs on him.
Last Friday (May 12th), Sudha Setty, the City University of New York School of Law dean, introduced Mayor Adams to the crowd of graduates and families. As she made note of his record as a police officer, boos steadily rose from the crowd. As he took to the stage to speak, many of the graduates visibly turned their backs on him. Others present at the closed-door event stated that there were more boos and derisive words shouted, with one source claiming to see a couple of raised middle fingers directed towards him.
Adams seemed undeterred by the protests. “We have a lot of challenges, a lot of things that it needs discipline. And just as you see these graduates here, I know what it is to protest,” he said, which was met by yells from the crowd. As he concluded his remarks which at some points were met by applause, he did note the backlash. “We’re watching a clear lack of desire to even participate in healthy dialogue,” he said. “My message today to the graduates,” Adams continued, “my message to those who believe that their beliefs are the only beliefs in a diversified city like New York, my message to you, instead of being a detached spectator in the full contact sport called life, get on the field and participate about improving the lives of the people of this city.”
The protests against Adams, reminiscent of how New York Police Department officers visibly shunned then-Mayor Bill de Blasio at a police funeral, come as he faces high criticism for refusing to condemn the murder of Jordan Neely by a white ex-Marine, Daniel Penny on a subway train. Adams also has been blasted for presenting a city budget that would cut 235 faculty and staff positions from CUNY’s network, which has been rallied against by students and professors.
“He’s committed to carceral discrimination against the poor, even if he was an internal reformer when he was in the police,” said Genevieve Ward, a second-year student who saw a video of the speech. “It’s disingenuous for himself to align his interest in police with the interests of what we’re taught at CUNY,” she continued. “And also just the timing of it, with the killing of Jordan Neely and his absence of talking about it until two days ago.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
Daniel Penny, the man who choked and killed Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train has turned himself over to authorities.
Penny, a former Marine, arrived at the Fifth Precinct of the New York Police Department in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan at 8 A.M. on Friday (May 12th). He surrendered alongside his attorneys, Steven Raiser & Thomas Kenniff.
Penny faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter, which was announced by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday.
Raiser and Kenniff said in a statement that they were “confident that once all the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic incident are brought to bear, Mr. Penny will be fully absolved of any wrongdoing.” A second-degree charge of manslaughter in New York is applied when the assailant is accused of recklessly causing the death of another person. If convicted of the charge in a trial, the 24-year-old Penny would face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. The city medical examiner ruled that Neely died due to compression of the neck on May 3rd.
Penny’s surrender comes after days of sustained but rising outrage expressed by community activists and politicians who were shocked at witnessing the video of Penny restraining Neely, a Black man who was homeless, in a chokehold on a northbound F train. A witness on the same train stated that Neely was yelling at others after boarding the train while in the midst of a mental health crisis. Penny would grab Neely and put him in a chokehold as two other men restrained his arms and legs. Police arrived at the Broadway-Lafayette station, and rushed Neely to a nearby hospital where he died.
Mayor Eric Adams had received heavy criticism from Democratic politicians for not taking a stronger stance on the incident, but after the announcement of charges he said: “I have the utmost faith in the judicial process, and now justice can move forward against Daniel Penny.” Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor who was part of the team that brought the case by the D.A.’s office against the Trump Organization, has been tasked to lead the investigation.
The family of Jordan Neely held a press conference afterward, blasting media depictions of Neely as excessively violent. Family attorney Lennon Edwards said of the charge, “We’re closer now to justice than we were a week ago because Daniel Penny has been arrested.” They also blasted Penny’s previous statement, claiming that “he’s getting to rewrite the account of what happened”.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Jordan Neely, a young Black homeless man who reportedly suffered a mental health episode while on a New York City subway train, was subdued by a passenger and eventually lost his life. Neely’s death was ruled a homicide as protestors continue to demand justice.
Neely, 30, was aboard an F train at the Broadway-Lafayette station when he allegedly threated passengers while standing. Another passenger, reportedly a U.S. Marine, grabbed Neely from behind with a rear-naked chokehold to subdue Neely as others looked on. From the little video footage we could bear to watch, Neely was effectively constrained by the Marine and two others posing no real threat but the Marine kept the deadly chokehold applied tightly and emergency response teams were unable to revive him.
As reported by local outlet ABC 7, protestors planned a protest outside of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for Thursday (May 4), adding to the growing cries of injustice and a common refrain that Neely’s death was indeed murder. The Marine, 24, was taken into custody and eventually released. Howwever, with the homicide ruling, charges could be pending for the Long Island resident.
As the news of Neely’s passing grew wide, most remembered him as a Michael Jackson imprsonator who held performances in and around the Times Square area. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the many public figures to speak out regarding Neely’s death and opened a tweet about the matter with, “Jordan Neely was murdered.”
The tweet was decried by New York Mayor Eric Adams, who said of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, “I don’t think that’s very responsible at the time when we’re still investigating the situation.”
While Neely’s death was ruled a homicide, the Manhattan DA will need to file charges if the case is to move ahead.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has been especially vocal regarding Neely’s death, also incurring the criticism of Mayor Adams. However, Lander is refusing to back down.
Across social media, many are gathered in support of Jordan Neely and his family in their ongoing fight to find a legal resolution.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Sinisa Kukic / Getty
A Black man who was alleged to have berated riders on a New York City subway train was killed due to a chokehold by a white passenger.
As NewsOne reports, Jordan Neely was on a northbound F train on Monday afternoon (May 1st). A witness claimed that Neely was yelling at other passengers on the train. “He started screaming in an aggressive manner,” said witness Juan Alberto Vazquez. “He said he had no food, he had no drink, that he was tired and doesn’t care if he goes to jail. He started screaming all these things, took off his jacket, a black jacket that he had, and threw it on the ground.” At that point, an unidentified white straphanger comes up behind Neely and places him in a chokehold, taking him down to the ground.
After a reported duration of 15 minutes, Neely stopped moving & lost consciousness. Video footage apparently shows someone expressing concern for Neely’s well-being off-camera. The 24-year-old and another man who joined in to hold Neely down let go of him, leaving him lying on his side.
Neely was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital by police where he would pass away. New York Police Department representatives have revealed that the 24-year-old is a former enlisted Marine, but have not revealed his name. He was arrested at the scene but released ultimately without being criminally charged. They also stated to members of the press that Neely was a recidivist with 44 prior arrests for assault & fare evasion.
The incident has angered many who got wind of the news on social media, noting how the 24-year-old vigilante wouldn’t have gotten to go free if he was Black and the victim was white. Some pointed out the free use of the term “vagrant” by publications to describe Neely. Others, like journalist Soledad O’Brien, noted how outlets like the New York Times used passive language. “Okaaaay young journos: let’s talk about the passive voice from @nytimes this fine morning. The guy “died”? Or was killed?” she wrote.
Police claim that an investigation into the exact circumstances of Neely’s death is ongoing, expressing that they are waiting on the autopsy results. Subway crime has been a heated topic of discussion, with NYPD officials boasting that it has dropped about 6% since the beginning of the year.