34 JULY 14 - JULY 20, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Seaside Summer, MLK Jr. Concert Series both canned for 2017
8/5/17
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BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICK@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Two long-running free Brooklyn
summer concert series are no
more — at least for 2017.
Organizers behind the decades-old
Seaside Summer Concert Series in
Coney Island and Martin Luther King
Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Park
announced on Friday, July 7 that the
shows would not go on this summer in
a statement posted to Facebook pages
for both.
According to reports, the announcement
comes just one day after
news broke that American Express
is suing the concert organizers for
$36,000, though it is unclear whether
or not the suit is the reason behind the
dual-cancellation.
Both concert series were founded
by former Borough President Marty
Markowitz when he was a state senator,
and were run through a not-for-profit
separate from the beep's office. In 2014,
the torch was passed to now-Borough
President Eric Adams.
One of the motivating factors in
the construction of the new Coney
Island amphitheater was to give a
permanent home to the Seaside concert
series.
Brooklynites were quick to react to
the news on Facebook.
"This is sad," said one user. "This is a
tradition that I always looked forward
to every summer as a kid and adult. It's
a shame."
The organization behind both series
has not yet responded to a request for
comment. However, Adams has stated
that he is looking for a way that the
shows can go on.
" I am vigorously working to identify
and secure an organizer that can
make free performances happen
this summer in our communities,"
he said. "As I have shared in the past,
the office of the Brooklyn Borough
President has no control over either
concert series; they have been run by
independent non-profit organizations
that determined the number of shows
each year and who would perform in
those shows."
Councilmember Mark Treyger,
who represents Coney Island, shared
similar sentiments.
"Ensuring that our community has
access to free, quality entertainment
has been a priority of mine, and I have
already secured funding to support
concerts in Coney Island this summer,"
he said in a post on Facebook.
“Unfortunately, as has become clear,
the prior non-profit organizer of the
Seaside Summer Concert Series lacks
the capacity to continue putting on
the free public events that were guaranteed
as part of building the Ford
Amphitheater.
"I am working diligently with Brooklyn
Borough President Eric Adams,
City Hall, the Economic Development
Corporation and the proprietors of
the Amphitheater to secure a new
organizer and a sustainable model to
ensure that residents have the free,
live entertainment that they deserve,
this summer and in summers to come,"
he concluded.
Photo courtesy of Butch Moran
The Village People performing at the Seaside Summer Concert
Series in 2012.