Back in July, a concert promoter had an idea: Why not let the beautiful people of the Hamptons blow off some steam while also raising some money for charity? Of course, this being the year of the plague, this couldn’t go off as it normally would: this would be a “drive-in music experience,” which guests would enjoy from the vicinity of their socially-distanced cars.
But the organizers couldn’t have planned for the unstoppable force of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon’s sick beats, helplessly drawing people away from their cars and into dangerously proximate reverie. Well, that or something more like this:
The event organizers applied for a permit without disclosing that there would be a “friends and family” section where attendees could congregate and masks were not required, Cuomo’s office said in a statement…. “I am at a loss as to how the Town of Southampton could have issued a permit for such an event, how they believed it was legal and not an obvious public health threat,” New York health commissioner Howard A. Zucker wrote about the concert in a July letter to Jay Schneiderman, the supervisor of the Town of Southampton….
Well, Gov. Killjoy says, D.J. D-Sol can put his turntables and headphones away, because it won’t be happening again.
The governor also said that town officials in Southampton, where the concert was held, would not be allowed to issue permits for group gatherings without receiving state approval first.
Oh, and also that the people reckless enough to unleash Solomon on the not-exactly-masses (given the ticket price of upwards of $25,000) will have to pay a fine of just a hair under that, or roughly what Solomon earns every few hours in his lame day job.
Officials said on Wednesday that the concert’s promoter, In the Know Experiences, would be fined $20,000… for violating regulations and increasing the risk that the virus would spread.
Chainsmokers Hamptons Concert Hit With $20,000 Fine From Cuomo [Forbes]
‘Diamond Sweet 16’ Party Leaves 37 Infected and 270 in Quarantine [NYT]