Back in October 2023, 12-acres-worth of Central Park’s Great Lawn closed to the public after September’s Global Citizen Festival and heavy rain caused substantial damage. Though now it’s set to reopen this weekend!
West Side Rag has reported that a spokesperson from Central Park Conservancy’s Landscape Management team has been working over the past few months to seed and aerate the lawn’s damaged areas, putting down sod where the damage was more severe.
The teams’ spokesperson told West Side Rag the repairs cost a total of $622,000 thought it was reimbursed in full by Global Citizen.
Started in 2012, September’s Global Citizen Festival, which takes place on Central Park’s Great Lawn, drew in tens of thousands of guests to listen to artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jung Kook, and more. The heavy foot traffic however, paired with four to five inches of rain that had showered down on NYC prior to the event, caused great damage to the lawn.
Back in October Councilmember Gale Brewer had written a letter to Mayor Eric Adams urging him to find a venue other than Central Park to host the annual festival in the future. Though the NYC Parks Department announced today, April 1st, that the festival is set to once again return to the Great Lawn this September.