Features
One Last Pool Party
A headliner for the final concert of the year was not announced at press time, but support acts Delorean and Dominique Young Unique were ready to play Aug. 29, after promoter Jelly NYC paid most of the money owed for use of the park to the nonprofit Open Space Alliance that administers it.
“We are pleased that Jelly was able to meet most of its obligations,” Alliance chairman Stephen Hindy told the New York Times.
The tale of the pool parties has taken many twists and turns over the past few summers, beginning in 2006 with its original incarnation at Brooklyn’s McCarren Pool. Along the way, it picked up some influential fans including N.Y. Sen. Chuck Schumer who has become one of the concert series’ most public supporters.
He and his staff have intervened in negotiations in addition to attending several concerts. “I am glad both sides finally came together because these concerts mean so much to the neighborhood of Williamsburg and the people of Brooklyn,” said Schumer in a statement. “The ultimate beneficiary from these shows is the New York City economy because cultural magnets like this make young people from around the country want to live here.”
But public pronouncements aside, the Aug. 29 show could still prove to be the Pool Party’s last, because its return in 2011 is in question. OSA officials have said they want to see more than just indie rock and hip-hop in the park.
“OSA looks forward to presenting diverse programming in the future,” Alliance board member Adam Perlmutter said, “from Chromeo to Copland.”