New York City Central Park’s Great Lawn Closed After Damage From Global Citizen Festival 2023

The 12-acre Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park is now closed to the public until April following damage to the grounds during this year’s Global Citizen Festival, The New York Times reports. The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, said the decision to close the Great Lawn was made after extensive foot traffic and heavy machinery “fully destroyed” one third of the lawn during a heavy rainstorm. Global Citizen’s organizers have vowed to cover the cost of repairs.

“The Central Park Conservancy is very disappointed that the iconic Great Lawn is now closed and unavailable for New Yorkers to enjoy this fall,” the Conservancy’s statement reads. Global Citizen shared a statement clarifying that it worked with government officials and the Central Park Conservancy in the months and days leading up to the event.

This year’s rainfall meant closer alignment with City agencies and stakeholders than ever before. In the months leading up to the festival on September 23, and daily in the week before the event, we worked closely with the NYC Mayor’s Office, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, Office of Emergency Management, NYPD, FDNY and the Central Park Conservancy. Ultimately, the City of New York, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Central Park Conservancy, determined that this year’s festival should go ahead in the rain.

In addition to the fee paid to the City each year for use of the Park, Global Citizen works with the Central Park Conservancy to assess and cover the costs of any damage, and we remain committed to fulfilling those obligations, as we have since 2012. This was communicated to the Central Park Conservancy before this year’s event and after it, as always.

Councilwoman Gale Brewer, whose district includes the park, sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams urging him to prohibit Global Citizen from utilizing the park going forward. “It’s fine to pay for it,” Brewer told the Tims. “But what about the people who can’t use it? You can’t pay for that.”

Global Citizen Festival 2023 featured performances from Ms. Lauryn Hill, who staged the latest Fugees reunion on the stage, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Megan Thee Stallion backed out of the event, instead performing in Houston with Beyoncé the same weekend. 

The event was intended to raise awareness for issues including extreme poverty, the climate crisis in the Global South, the global hunger crisis, and inequities women and girls face internationally. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, announced that $240 million from France and Norway would go to the International Fund for Agricultural Development to address global hunger. The New York City event was launched with the help of several corporations and was billed as “presented by Citi and Cisco.”