it suffered greatly due to festivals and bad weather

Central Park’s iconic Great Lawn will officially close until April 2024, following major damage from the Global Citizen festival featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lauryn Hill, Time Out reports.

The closure of the lawn is certainly being felt keenly, given the general lack of green space in the concrete jungle. In September, despite heavy rain, thousands of people turned out for a free music festival. Add to this the jumping and stomping that defines any such experience, as well as the machinery used to set up and maintain the stage, and you have a recipe for disaster.

“The use of heavy equipment and heavy foot traffic in wet conditions following the September 23 concert damaged a significant portion of the lawn and completely destroyed a third of it. Our team is currently working on restoring the lawn, hoping to have it back up and running next spring,” according to Central Park officials.

Complete soil replacement

Officials explained that the “totally destroyed” section of the park needs complete soil replacement, which will be paid for by Global Citizen. In fact, the organization has always covered the cost of damage to the park since it opened in 2012.

“This year, due to precipitation, we had to coordinate our actions with city authorities and stakeholders more than ever before,” said a festival representative. “We worked closely every day during the week leading up to the event and for months leading up to it with the mayor’s office, Parks and Recreation, the Office of Emergency Management, the NYPD, the Fire Department and the Central Park Conservancy. Ultimately, the City of New York City, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Central Park Conservatory decided that the festival should go ahead this year.”

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Although the Great Lawn is typically closed to visitors from late November through April, having to close it now has undoubtedly taken a toll on New Yorkers who were hoping to spend time there in early fall, especially given the 27-degree temperatures we’ve seen this week.