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Cancel 2-Day Rave Planned at Crown Heights Armory, Locals Say

By Rachel Holliday Smith | November 3, 2015 5:58pm | Updated on November 3, 2015 7:03pm
 An electronic music festival is set to take place at the Bedford-Union Armory on Nov. 20 and 21.
An electronic music festival is set to take place at the Bedford-Union Armory on Nov. 20 and 21.
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DNAinfo/Rachel Holliday Smith

CROWN HEIGHTS — They’re trying to stave off a rave.

Local residents and leaders are fighting to shut down a massive, two-day electronic music concert and rave planned to take place at the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights later this month.

The Time Warp Festival, an annual, international electronic music event started in Germany in 1994, is set to take over the armory on Nov. 20 and 21, promoters said, with tickets going for between $89 to $278 on the Time Warp website.

The event will take place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. each of the two nights, the site says; subway directions show partygoers the best way to get to the armory at Bedford Avenue and Union Street.

 The Time Warp Festival has been traveling to various countries around the world since 1994, including the United States. Here, concertgoers attend
The Time Warp Festival has been traveling to various countries around the world since 1994, including the United States. Here, concertgoers attend "Time Warp US" last year at the 39th Street Pier in Sunset Park.
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Time Warp US/Jeff Thibodeau

But since last month, Assemblymember Walter Mosley, has been pushing the city to cancel the event, urged on by locals, he told DNAinfo. Neighbors were particularly worried about quality of life issues like parking and the effect of “potentially intoxicated” people attending the rave in a “residential community like Crown Heights,” he said.

“This is something that residents of north Crown Heights were extremely concerned about,” he added.

Mosley has also been trying to find out who approved the rave in the first place.

“What was the process by which they selected this particular armory?” he asked of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which is charged with overseeing events and facility operations at the armory.

Currently, the future of the event is in limbo. After multiple inquiries made to DCAS and City Hall, Mosley’s office was told by email that DCAS is “not moving forward with the event.”

However, in response to an inquiry about the festival made to DCAS this week by DNAinfo, a spokeswoman said only that the agency is “reviewing the application” for Time Warp.

Time Warp told DNAinfo in a statement that the festival will go forward at the Bedford-Union Armory as planned and that they received all proper approvals from DCAS before beginning sales for the event.

"All procedures thus far have been properly handled ... We are underway for a seamless event at Bedford Union Armory," Time Warp said.

This is not the first time Time Warp has has trouble planning events in the city.

Last year, the festival canceled a Thanksgiving weekend rave at the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx after it became clear the group had not secured proper permits for the space, according to a report by the Daily News. The event was ultimately held at the 39th Street Pier in Sunset Park.

One Crown Heights resident in particular has promised to keep fighting Time Warp from coming to his neighborhood.

Attorney Richard Hurley, leader of a local group of block associations and one-time candidate for City Council, has sent out multiple emails to the community about the planned rave, warning that the event could bring “noise, garbage, alcohol, drugs” and “police action” to the community, a Oct. 20 message read.

Two weeks later, he sent out another alert.

“Tickets are still on sale! This is not acceptable in any way, shape or form!” Hurley’s Nov. 2 message read, next to images of huge crowds and neon lights typical at electronic music events.

Hurley was involved in two town hall meetings hosted by the city’s Economic Development Corp. last year to discuss a new long-term use of the armory. The NYC EDC has been considering for more than a year various proposals to redevelop the former military space — including housing, retail and a performing arts space — but no decisions have yet been made, the agency said.