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COURIER LIFE, MARCH 25–31, 2022
BY KIRSTYN BRENDLEN
This summer, amid the usual
feasts and festivals dotting New
York City’s streets, there will be
a whole new kind of celebration.
For three full months, the allnew
Festival of New York will
bring art, education, music, and
more to all five boroughs with
the help of more than 200 community
partners, including dozens
from right here in Brooklyn.
“Time and again, New York
has shown that our grit and resilience
is unmatched, and our culture
and diversity make this the
greatest city in the world,” said
Mayor Eric Adams. “And now,
200+ organizations, across all
five boroughs, will collectively
showcase all the creativity, the
resiliency, the diversity, and the
spirit that makes New York City
all that it is. I am thankful to
each of these organizations that
are helping us to recover, helping
us to build back, and helping us
to succeed together.”
Bound not by the seasonal beginning
and end of the season
but the cultural ones — Memorial
Day and Labor Day — the
festival also isn’t constrained by
one theme, or one goal. Institutions
and organizations across
the board, including BRIC, the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln
Center, and even the Statue
of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation
will be hosting special performances,
interactive events, job
fairs, and educational programming
as part of the festival.
The festival is meant to invite
New Yorkers of all stripes to
come together as they continue
to recover from an incredibly
difficult two years while looking
ahead to a future that’s gentler,
more equitable, and more inclusive
to everyone.
“Our arts and culture sector
makes up the heart of New York
City’s comeback story, and I’m
thrilled to join these 200+ partners
from all sectors and corners
of our city to celebrate what
makes New York City the cultural
capital of the world,” said
Maria Torres-Springer, the Big
Apple’s deputy mayor for economic
and workforce development.
“This is an opportunity to
celebrate the talent, music, history,
and communities that have
shaped the character of New
York City – and work collectively
to chart a stronger, inclusive future
for all of us.”
On Aug. 6, Brooklynites can
join their neighbors in all five
boroughs in a big outdoor dance
party spearheaded by the Brooklyn
Public Library, the New York
Public Library and the Queens
Public Library. Dozens of library
locations and other cultural sites
will take part in an afternoon of
music, dancing, and celebrating
the city and, of course, its expansive
library systems.
Music has always been an important
component of BPL’s programming,
said Meredith Walters,
the library’s Director of
Programs and Exhibitions. At
the dance party, planned for the
BPL’s central branch in Prospect
Park, they’ll welcome back one
particular artist who’s always
been a hit with Brooklynites.
“We’ll have a DJ named Max
Glazer from a great organization
called Federation Sound
that focuses on reggae music,”
said Meredith Walters, director
of programs and exhibitions
at BPL. “It’s a lot of fun, people
are dancing, we’ve had people
pull over their cars on the side
BROOKLYN
of Eastern Parkway and join the
dance party before.”
Live music and performance
will feature throughout the summer
under the umbrella of the
Festival of New York, Walters
said, after two years of largelyvirtual
events.
The library-centered dance
party and other programs aren’t
strictly a celebration of a “return”
of the library, noted Fritzi
Bodenheimer, BPL’s press officer.
Hundreds of librarians have
worked round-the-block throughout
the pandemic, brainstorming
and hosting online events, putting
together grab-and-go activities,
and maintaining one of the
city’s only true public spaces
once they reopened.
“Our librarians have done an
extraordinary amount of things
outside the job,” she said. “Before
a lot of businesses got this idea
that ‘Hey, we could be outside,’
the library was already doing storytime
outside. We’ve just continued
to grow and grow and grow.”
Of course, the festival is also
about the resilience of New Yorkers
and their beloved home, embodied
by the city’s adaptable
and dedicated library employees.
Another community partner,
the Alliance For Coney Island,
will also be hosting a dance
party on Aug. 6, said Alexandra
Silversmith, the organization’s
executive director. The exact
details of their celebration are
still being hammered out — the
months leading into the summer
are packed with planning for the
summer ahead at Coney Island —
but she’s excited to welcome regulars
and newcomers alike to the
boardwalk with music, dancing
and joy.
“We just think it will be a nice
way for people to enjoy themselves
if they’re going on some
Music has always been an important part of the Brooklyn Public Library’s programming
— that’s no different this summer, as the organization joins the Festival
of New York for three months of music, education, and celebration.
File photo by Paul Frangipane
rides, maybe just to hang out,”
she said. “Also, obviously, great
people watching in Coney Island.
Coney Island is truly like the
melting pot of New York, we’re
hoping we’ll have some music
and a DJ who’s sort of representing
that.”
Silversmith first heard about
the festival when a colleague at
Lincoln Center reached out to
see if she’d be interested in taking
part, she said. She was intrigued
mostly because she’s always
looking to bring new forms
of art and entertainment to the
neighborhood, and a citywide,
collaborative celebration seemed
like a great place to make those
connections.
“I have dreams of having ballet
or Alvin Ailey on the boardwalk,
just things that are unusual
that you wouldn’t find
anywhere else,” she said. “It’s
helped us connect with entities
that we could have researched,
but it makes it a lot easier when
you have that connection.”
The Alliance is waiting to receive
an Open Streets permit so
they can expand their summertime
activities, so more plans for
the festival are still in the worksThe
city’s small businesses will
also be highlighted throughout
the summer on “Small Business
Weekends.” On Tompkins Avenue,
the Tompkins Avenue Merchants
Association, Bridge Street
Development Corporation, and
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
will sponsor “Black Girl Magic
Weekend,” shining a spotlight on
the 14 businesses owned by Black
women along the avenue.
“This movement is about
sparking the very best of what
New Yorkers can create when
we work together,” said Brooklyn
Borough President Antonio
Reynoso. “To all the naysayers
who thought we were down, that
New York would never be the
same — you were right about the
last part. We are coming back
from this pandemic ever stronger,
ever prouder of our City and
ever more committed to the great
impact we must make together.”
More programs and events
will be announced as Memorial
Day approaches, with fitness
events, outings in the city’s
parks, and more on the docket.
New York Liberty will take part
with a series of events in and
around the city in addition to
their regularly scheduled games
at Barclays Center.
“We just hope to see a lot of
smiling faces,” Silversmith said.
“We’re excited to have everybody
enjoying themselves in the
fresh air and sunshine in Coney
Island and enjoying themselves,
because it’s been really rough, to
say the least.”
Summer celebration
Beloved local orgs to celebrate ‘Festival of New York’
BRIC, a cornerstone of arts in Brooklyn,
is one of more than 200 partners
coming together for the Festival of
New York. File photo by Caroline Ourso
“This movement is about sparking the very
best of what New Yorkers can create when we
work together. We are coming back from this
pandemic even stronger.