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Consents & Variances

Application for the Pakistan Day Festival on Sunday, August 24th, 2014 on Madison Ave between 23rd and 26th Streets.

At the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, March 13, 2014, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 36 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:

WHEREAS, The Pakistan Day Festival has submitted an application to hold their annual post-parade event in Madison Square Park and on certain adjacent streets as noted above, causing those streets' closures; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of several years, Community Board Five has worked with the Applicant, in coordination with the Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO) and the Madison Square Park Conservancy (MSPC), to attempt to improve their event operationally and alleviate ongoing issues from past events; and

WHEREAS, Applicant has signed a Statement of Compliance acknowledging their understanding and acceptance of CB5's Policy on Madison Square Park Large Events and each of its required operational commitments and restrictions; and

WHEREAS, Applicant's event in 2013 exhibited repeated violations of this policy, including poorly managed sanitation, insufficient staffing, insufficient clearance for emergency vehicles in the fire lane on Madison Avenue, and unacceptable volume levels of amplified sound, despite attempts by CB5 and MSPC representatives to lower it; and

WHEREAS, Applicant was put on notice in 2013 that their failure to adequately manage sanitation and amplified sound levels at their event in 2012 resulted in heightened scrutiny for last year's event, with the explicit understanding that failure to fully comply a second time would result in an automatic denial of their present application, as per CB5 and SAPO's policies not to support any event after material non-compliance for two consecutive years; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application for the Pakistan Day Festival on Sunday, August 24th, 2014 on Madison Ave between 23rd and 26th Streets.

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