City Denies New Locale for PrideFest
The New York Daily News reported today that organizers of PrideFest, the festival that takes place after the annual Pride Parade, have been blocked in their bid to relocated the parade to Chelsea.
PrideFest has taken place in the West Village in years past, but organizers of the event were eyeing eighth avenue in Chelsea this year. "Those streets are narrow and not well-kept," Phil Mannino, who serves as co-chairman for PrideFest, said of the old location around Greenwich and Washington. "We wanted to make it more upscale with more nonprofits and community groups," Mannino said of this year's event, which is scheduled to take place on June 24.
According to the Daily news article, Mannino said that Community Board 4 had given the go-ahead. The city, however, did not, saying instead that it will only issue a permit for the same location as has previously been used for the festival.
Patrick Brennan, who serves as commissioner of the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit, was quoted as saying, "The city is available to discuss the situation with Heritage of Pride in hopes of permitting the same event that has happened in years past," but he also said that the city could not accommodate organizers' request for a change of location.
City Controller William Thompson has written Mayor Bloomberg on behalf of PrideFest organizers.