A Tale of Two Shindigs

Over the summer, a New York production company worked in collaboration with a local cultural institution to plan a performance to be staged on a Brooklyn street. The concept was to incorporate the ambiance of a Brooklyn neighborhood into the larger frame of their production. The producers ended up choosing a residential block of Prospect Heights, which not coincidentally happened to be in close proximity to the partner cultural institution. 

By the nature of the proposed performance, the producers realized that their staging would impact the people living on the street. In addition to drawing an audience from outside the neighborhood, they planned to bring in a large cast of actors who would be an integral part of the performance. They also realized they’d need the residents’ support if they expected the Community Board to back their request to close the street. So the producers met with the residents’ block association, explained their plans, and asked it to be co-sponsor of the event. The block association responded with a set of conditions (for instance, having the production insure property owners against damages), to which the producers agreed. The block association provided the support letter the producers wanted. The creative director moved into an apartment on the block to learn more about the neighborhood and its community. Then the producers invited all of the residents to a reception to hear the details and ask questions over drinks and dinner.

If this doesn’t sound much like the way MTV’s Video Music Awards went down last month at Barclays Center, that’s because it’s not. But it is the approach that non-profit New York arts organization Creative Time has taken in preparing to stage a new piece by California performance artist Susanne Lacy, “Between the Door and the Street,” on the block of Park Place between Vanderbilt and Underhill Avenues. The production is being mounted in collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and is planned for October 19.

In contrast, MTV declined to meet with the Dean Street block association to discuss its plans for the VMAs. By working through the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), MTV was able to bypass Community Board approval of street closures and amplified sound. The final schedule for tech, rehearsal and live broadcast was not published until a few days before the August 25 event. While some Dean Street residents enjoyed the spectacle that ensued, others who hadn’t even heard about the event were furious at long delays getting to their homes through security checkpoints, as well as at having to endure crowds of sometimes-unruly fans gathering on their sidewalks and stoops. (More detail on how the VMAs affected the neighborhood around Barclays Center is available from Atlantic Yards Watch.)

It’s easy to see the differences between a performance piece by a feminist artist and a nationally-televised entertainment awards ceremony. The economic impact of the VMAs is significant, and the national exposure for Brooklyn as a site for similar events is compelling. But it’s harder to justify treating the rights of residents of two blocks of the same neighborhood so differently. Certainly the likelihood of another production like the VMAs being staged next to Barclays Center is much greater than another performance piece being staged on Park Place. It’s simply unfair to the people on Dean Street if the visibility of an event like the VMAs is reason enough for the Mayor’s office to run interference for MTV, instead of attempting to balance the economic opportunity with the quality of life of the local community.

Let’s remember that most of the residents of Dean Street didn’t choose to live next an arena. The Bloomberg administration allowed the Atlantic Yards project to override zoning that otherwise would have prohibited an arena from being built so close to their block. The State-mandated environmental impact statement for the project never disclosed the potential for local street closures for outdoor shows ancillary to arena events. And at a public meeting on September 5, 2012 prior to the opening of Barclays Center, officials from Forest City Ratner promised that arena events would not be staged on local streets.

Are these reasons to forever prohibit production companies from using the streets near Barclays Center as sets for live events? Of course not. But they are good reasons why MTV, MOME and Barclays Center should have approached arena neighbors the same way that Creative Time and the Brooklyn Museum did—expecting to have to earn residents’ support, not assuming their performance had an automatic right to take over residential streets.

Besides being the right thing to do, there are benefits for producers when they get residents on board. Block associations can help with communicating information about plans to their members. People familiar with the neighborhood are in a good position to help producers find solutions to problems that come up unexpectedly. And residents who feel like their support matters are more likely to evangelize for the production to win over skeptical neighbors.

Residents that want to close their street for a block party are required to get a permit that requires the approvals of their Community Board and police precinct. A live performance on a residential street should be permitted in the same way. By leveraging the capabilities and structure of a Community Board, neighbors’ concerns are more likely to be anticipated and their interests protected. Although it’s a touchier subject, thought must also be given to how residents should participate in the economic side of a for-profit production like the Video Music Awards. They are, after all, being asked to make a sacrifice for a private business, and have a right to be compensated, even if indirectly (for instance, through the producers funding a community project).

Would making the VMAs' use of Dean Street contingent on community buy-in have reduced the disruption to residents? If not, that's the best reason of all to have received consent of the people affected. People who feel their voices are being ignored by government have a way of finding other means to express their grievances. Certainly escalating tensions with its neighbors over outdoor event staging would not be in the interest of Barclays Center or productions that rent its space.

The cultural appeal of Brooklyn seems to only be getting bigger. It’s time for the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and local Community Boards to figure out how the borough’s streets can host productions in a way that’s consistent with the image of Brooklyn’s close-knit neighborhood life that attracts artists and producers in the first place. Although there are still a few weeks before Ms. Lacy's piece premieres, the experience thus far of the Park Place residents working with the team of Creative Time and the Brooklyn Museum suggests that residents will support and even advocate for a performance on their street if engaged respectfully and in good faith.