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UPDATE: Red Hook NIMBYs Successfully Push Escape Fest Out To Governors Island
By
Lauren Evans
Published Sep 29, 2014
Modified Sep 29, 2014
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Escape Festival
By
Lauren Evans
Published Sep 29, 2014
Modified Sep 29, 2014
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[UPDATE BELOW] Looks like the suits behind Escape Music Festival have caved to pressure from disgruntled residents of the Columbia Waterfront and Red Hook, because it's being relocated from the deathly quiet oasis of Pier 9 to the more decibel-friendly Governors Island.
A notice announcing the change was posted today to the festival's website:
We wanted you to be among the first to know that Escape Music Festival has moved to an amazing new location. The dates and lineup are the same, but the event will now be at Governor’s Island Beach Club! We’re excited to announce that with this new venue we’ve given the entire festival a massive upgrade!
Subtext: "We don't want to trudge all the way to your lame concrete container port ANYWAY." Ferry passes will be included in the ticket price, and don't worry, the lineup—with Girl Talk, Moby, Placebo and Yeasayer headlining—will remain fully intact, for better or for worse.
Update, 3:50 p.m.: According to DNAinfo, organizers failed to secure a permit from Port Authority to host the festival, having in August dismissed the process as a technicality.
Earlier this month, Vice and Absolut Vodka hosted a similar gathering, though it lasted one evening and was abruptly silenced by 11 p.m.
The Red Hook Star Revue reports that residents and business owners were actually looking forward to the fest:
In fact, most people the Star-Revue spoke with were intrigued by the festival, and many locals were hoping to attend. Local bars, including Alma and MikNik, reported better than usual sales on the Friday of the Absolut event, and despite Ms. Hagman’s comment, we noticed nothing untoward on our walk up and down Columbia Street the evening of the Absolut show.
The Festival had arranged to donate some of their profits to two local non-profits, The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and Portside. It is unclear how this forced move to Governor’s Island will affect that commitment.
The Red Hook LLC is looking for additional income from the waterfront due to a recent decline in shipping volume as well as the threat of reduced investment in the piers from government and the Port Authority. The main threat to industrial use of the local waterfront is reduced income, which rental from the Escape Music Festival would have mitigated.
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