Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday criticized a Hamptons concert by The Chainsmokers over the weekend, where revelers openly mocked the coronavirus social distancing rules by saying the state Health Department will launch an investigation into the matter.
Online videos of the Southampton concert on Saturday show “egregious violations of social estrangement. I am appalled, ”Cuomo said in a tweet, along with a now viral clip showing a lot of crowds.
“The Department of Health will conduct an investigation,” wrote the governor. “We do not tolerate the illegal and reckless danger of public health.”
The charity concert, planned as a “drive-in” with 500 cars and an estimated 2,000 people in the Water Mill village of Millstone Road, was hosted by The Chainsmokers and featured opening acts by the Southampton Jay City Overseer band Schneiderman and Goldman Sachs CEO David. Solomon (aka DJ D-Sol).
State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker sent a letter to Schneiderman on Monday, saying he was “very disturbed by reports of the drive-in concert held in his city last weekend, which apparently involved thousands from nearby people, vehicles, a VIP area where there was no pretense of a vehicle, and generally did not adhere to the social distancing orientation. “
Zucker was enraged in the letter: “I don’t know how the city of Southampton could have issued a permit for such an event, how they believed it was legal and not an obvious threat to public health.”
Schneiderman blamed the event organizers during an interview with The Post Monday.
“We believe the permit conditions were violated,” Schneiderman said, explaining that the city issued a special event permit for the concert that allowed a company called In The Know Experiences to organize the event.
Schneiderman, who estimated that about 3,000 were at the concert, said that each car at the event and its occupants were supposed to remain in a designated plaza in land order at social distance.
“The cars were not going to be next to each other. It would be like a chessboard, “he said, adding:” The design met the guidelines: it was a driving event. “
But that did not happen, according to the images of the concert.
“The organizer was supposed to make sure people stayed in their place; they didn’t have enough security,” said Schneiderman.
VIP areas where crowds formed near the stage during the show “were not part of the permit,” said Schneiderman, who said, “We never would have allowed that.”
“I had conversations with the organizers to make sure they would enforce the rules,” said the city supervisor. “It is unfortunate that they allowed that to happen.”
Schneiderman said that when his band performed at the beginning of the night, “There was no one in front of the stage.”
“I stayed for a while and when I noticed the VIP zone, I told the organizers’ two security guards to stop,” said Schneiderman, who added that he had to leave because his trip home sent him a message. text saying, “You have to come to the car right now. We have to go,” because your friend had an “allergy problem.”
Schneiderman said he is conducting an investigation into the matter.
“I want to know why the city police did not divide the VIP area,” he said, noting that during the night the police presence had to increase “significantly” to deal with the crowds.
“I would never have allowed the event,” said Schneiderman. “The organizers will be cited for that.”
Southampton City Police Chief Steven Skrynecki told The Post that the crowds of people seen in the video tweeted by Cuomo “weren’t on the line” for most of the concert.
The VIP area, Skrynecki said, “was not the problem immediately.”
“We closed the event at 10:30 pm between the police and firefighters onstage,” said the chief, explaining that “we were receiving a lot of noise complaints … and the stage area was becoming increasingly congested.”
“We are disappointed with the ability of the organizers to deliver the product that they said they were going to deliver,” said Skrynecki. “So that’s part of the reason we had to increase our police force and we hoped that they would be much more involved in the implementation of COVID and that they would address COVID issues.”
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