So, Does This Mean No Festival for Flushing-Meadows?

The organizers behind the ever-popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival announced its initial lineup yesterday, for the first annual Panorama Music and Arts Festival, which is set to take place from July 22–24, 2016. But while fans were busy retweeting about the return of bands such as LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire (I’ll admit I am just as guilty for that) everyone seemed to forget how the concept behind Panorama was created.

“We look to bring Panorama to New York City and introducing a new festival that showcases today’s top music acts,” Goldenvoice Festival Producer Mark Shulman told Billboard back in January. “We’re committed to creating an event that will provide significant benefits to New York City with the level of expertise and meticulous attention to detail for which Goldenvoice is known.”

However, when Goldenvoice — the organization behind both Coachella and the forthcoming Panorama Music and Arts Festival— first announced its plans, they were determined to bring the event to Flushing-Meadows Corona Park in Queens.

Now, you may be wondering, “what difference does it make if it’s held on Randall’s Island instead?”

Well. For one, it would easily be the second largest annual event held in the “World’s Borough,” after the annual USTA U.S. Open.

The New York State Pavilion was designed over 50-years ago by architect Philip Johnson as a symbol for the 1964–65 World’s Fair. Since then, the structures had been left virtually abandoned.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz has championed efforts to bring new life to this iconic park. Since taking office in 2014, she has pushed to restore the pavilion to its former glory, securing $5.8 million in City funding to revitalize parts of the park that have been neglected for decades.

While it could potentially help breathe some new life into the Borough that bore legendary Jazz musicians, such as Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, to Hip-Hop heavy-hitters, like Nas and A Tribe Called Quest, the New York City Parks department determined that closing off a portion of the 900-acre grounds for a three-day music festival would not be fair to the residents of Queens who regularly use the park in the summer months.

“While we are heartened by the interest in one of Queens’ most historic parks, our primary concern is ensuring the park is available to the many New Yorkers who call Flushing Meadows-Corona Park their home,” NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver told NBC 4 New York.

Goldenvoice has been trying to bring the music festival to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, for more than two years, but have yet to get NYC Parks Department on board.

According to Billboard, Shulman said they have received tremendous support from the community and are determined to continue talks with the Parks Department to create an event in Queens.

So, for the time being, Goldenvoice agreed to hold its first annual Panorama Music and Arts Festival on Randall’s Island.

However, since the location is also home to the annual Governor’s Ball Music Festival on June 3–5, 2016, organizers were concerned that having two festivals at the same location, just two weeks apart, would negatively impact ticket sales and launched a petition to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, asking him to reject the proposed location.

After fiddling with the dates, New York City agreed to host both mainstream music festivals in the same location — now 7 weeks apart.

Meanwhile, New York City residents hoping for a music festival to come to Flushing Meadows Corona-Park will just have to keep waiting until the Parks Department approves.