By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Midtown's Community Board 5 voted to remain silent on this year's Big Apple BBQ Block Party Thursday night after weeks of anticipation and years of going back and forth on the issue.
Board members had been split over the merits of the BBQ fest, which draws over 100,000 people to Madison Square Park each year to celebrate the art of BBQ with the the nation's pit-masters. The event is scheduled to return for its ninth year on June 11 and June 12.
While many love the event, board members and neighbors raised concerns about noise as well as damage to the park caused by the crowds.
But instead of casting a vote one way or another, the board decided to recuse itself from the decision while a task force assembles to take a wider look at the value of large-scale events in and around the area's parks.
"We thought it was more prudent to not weigh in on the BBQ this year," said board member Ron Dwenger, who hopes the task force will be able to create an objective set of criteria for evaluating events to give the board a consistent voice in the future and avoid potential accusations of favoritism and bias.
The decision comes after the board was accused of racism when it asked the city to reject bids by a handful of ethnic groups to hold their post-parade celebrations in and around the park while allowing other, similar events to continue.
In early March, the board's Parks and Consents & Variances committees voted 8-to-5 against this year's BBQ. But instead of going to the full board, the item was pulled from the agenda to give them more time "to build board consensus." The same committees voted to support the task force earlier this month.
Community Board 5 is home to a large number of public spaces, including Madison Square Park, Union Park and Times Square, and faces hundreds of applications from groups to host large-scale events each year.
The new task force will reach out to residents, event planners, park conservancies and others to try to measure the impact of large scale events, weigh their costs and benefits, and examine why some events seem to work better than others.
It's work is expected to take several months.
