Street Fair Committee Proposes New Guideline

Private events will have to be open to the public By [Laura Shin] Community Board 8"s Street Fair Committee is proposing a guideline for single-block street closings that will require all events to be open to the public. A recent increase in applications for street closings for private events has raised concern, said Laura Lijewski, co-chair of the committee. â??The city"s resources are stretched, Lijewski said at a public hearing Oct 4. â??If an event is not available to the general public, is it appropriate to use city resources to close off the street, to block the street, to monitor the activity and so forth when the city is strapped for funds? Other worries include the impact on traffic, impact on residents and inconvenience to the public, Lijewski said. One example of a private event that causes street closings is graduations. Committee Co-Chair Barbara Chocky said there were at least two schools last year that closed off streets to hold their graduation ceremonies. Michele Birnbaum, member of the Street Fair Committee, said the issue is that approving an increasing number of these kinds of events will set a certain precedent. According to the current list of guidelines, â??Applications for single-block street fairs or events may only be submitted by not-for-profit organizations located in and providing services to the Community Board 8 district. In the past, permit applicants have not been required to specify whether or not their event is open to the public. Representatives from St. James Church, Trinity Baptist Church, the Russian Orthodox Church and P.S. 151 attended the public hearing because they each hold annual outdoor events, from fundraisers to religious ceremonies. However, they all stated that the public is invited to participate in their events and celebrations. Marymount Manhattan College holds two events during the year that are closed to the public on 71st Street between Second and Third avenues. Rosemary Ampuero, assistant dean and director of student development and activities, said the events feature inflatable rides and that making them available to the public would result in a liability issue. â??We want our students to continue to have the event, so if we need to compromise a little bit, then we"ll find a way to do that, Ampuero said. The events are celebrations for the students, held once in the fall semester and again in the spring semester. The school has been holding the spring event for about 40 years, Ampuero said. â??It"s a tradition. It"s the only thing that allows the college, to feel like a real traditional college because we don"t really have a campus, she said. The committee will go before the full board meeting Oct. 20.