Mayor de Blasio on Friday canceled Ozy Fest, the quirky music and political weekend event on Central Park’s Great Lawn, after a sizzling prediction for the heat index to climb over 110 degrees.
The Department of Parks & Recreation announced because of the extreme heat, it was canning the festival that would have featured moderated talks with politicians, influencers, entrepreneurs and musical performances. Planned guests included singer John Legend, World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe, Daily Show host Trevor Noah, and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke.
“Based upon the heat, we raised some grave concerns and felt it was the best interest to cancel,” said commissioner Mitchell Silver.
Fans were bummed.
“While I understand their reasons for doing it, since of course, safety should be their main concern, I cannot help but feel disappointed,” said Aline Guzik, 28, from Mexico City, who bought a $50 one-day ticket on Groupon.
“I have been looking forward to OZY Fest for a while now for their particular focus in combining issues that are not normally discussed in a music event. …I thought this was the event for me,” she said.
Ruchi Malhotra, 35, from Mumbai, India, and her friend were out the cash for a two-day pass.
“We have lost our money for whatever experience that was worth. No one is happy about that kind of stuff,” she said, adding the alternatives she has aren’t the worst, either. “The heat scare is so widespread that it persuades me enough to consider being indoors, or at best, go to movies.”
The cancellation comes in the wake of de Blasio’s Thursday declaration of a citywide heat emergency lasting from 9 a.m. Friday at 9 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
High temperatures of 99 and 100 degrees are forecast for Saturday and Sunday, with heat indexes well over 100.
“I don’t know what Ozy Fest feels, personally. I do not know their view,” said de Blasio, who said the city was pulling the plug based on the terms of its contract with the festival.
“Consistent reports from the National Weather Service putting us at 110 [degrees] and greater on that heat index, 105 is the trigger [for cancellation]. We’re saying we’re done here. This thing needs to be canceled,” he said.
The city also canceled the New York City Triathlon, scheduled to finish in Central Park Sunday. A day-long celebration in Times Square of Saturday’s 50th anniversary of the moon landing was still on the calendar as of Friday afternoon.
De Blasio has told owners of buildings at least 100 feet tall to set thermostats to 78 degrees throughout the heat emergency to ease the strain on the electrical grid.
Despite the mayor’s cancellation, Ozy Fest’s website was still selling tickets as of Friday afternoon. A notice atop the page read, “There will be unlimited free water, misting fans, shaded areas, heat relief tents, sunscreen dispensers and ice stations all weekend-long at OZY Fest.”
The city planned to close the Great Lawn to the public this weekend for the festival. Ozy Fest offered general-admission weekend passes for $119, and $449 passes that promised to put festivalgoers in a “VIP Viewing Area” that would host “spontaneous” meet-and-greets with performers.
Ozy Fest organizers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
