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Electric Zoo Lobbying De Blasio For Return To Randall's Island
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 26, 2014
Modified Mar 26, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 26, 2014
Modified Mar 26, 2014
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Electronic music festival Electric Zoo has reportedly been reaching out to City Hall in hopes of making a return to Randall's Island this summer, despite getting shuttered by city officials after two concertgoers died last year.
According to the Daily News, festival organizers have hired lobbyists to reach out to the de Blasio administration in hopes of obtaining a Parks Department permit for this summer. One of the lobbyists, Mike McKeon, works for a firm that reportedly raised $32,520 for the Mayor's campaign and inauguration; the paper notes that he and several other lobbyists have been contacting City Hall bigwigs like Emma Wolfe, director of intergovernmental affairs, and Dominic Williams, Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris's Chief of Staff.
Last year the festival was canceled on its final performance day after attendees Olivia Rotondo, 20, and Jeffrey Russ, 23, died of overdoses of the drug MDMA ("Molly"). In addition to the two deaths, four people were hospitalized, there were at least 31 arrests at the festival, and one reported sexual assault of a 16-year-old.
The incidents cast doubt on Electric Zoo's future in the city, with pre-City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito telling DNAinfo, "The tragedy at the Electric Zoo event on Randall's Island again underscores why we need to look more critically at these private events happening in our parks. Randall's Island is routinely taken over by these private events where the benefit to the city and to the public is often unclear, and oversight is limited."
Geoffrey Croft, president of the NYC Parks Advocates, noted on blog A Walk in the Park that, "Arrest charges ranged from drug sales, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and possession of controlled substances," adding that festival organizers hired a private doctor and ambulances so "they wouldn’t have to call 911, which would bring the cops."
The festival plans to take place over Labor Day weekend. A Parks Department spokesman told the Daily News that the festival's application “is under review.”
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