Getting NYC Event Permits Is a Mess of Red Tape

"It's like, 'Ok, where? Who do we call? What do you mean?' said Batan, of the Queensboro Dance Festival, which puts on free dance performances, parties, and classes 30 to 40 times each summer. Batan compares the city's complex permitting process - which features an alphabet-soup array of agencies and offices that set guidelines for everything from block parties and street festivals to the use of stages, tents, and speakers - to 'avoiding a bunch of trap doors.'"

"It shouldn't just be the Governors Balls and the Summerstages that can do this because they have a massive budget and they have a huge team, she said, pointing to the annual three-day music festival in Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the yearly summer performances in Central Park and dozens of city parks. A lot of our public spaces are meant for the local community and they are smaller in scale."

"In hopes of slicing through red tape, a new report from the Design Trust for Public Space makes a series of recommendations to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and city agencies on how to ease permitting hurdles for organizations that put on events in public space. That includes more than 30,000 acres of parkland, close to 600 privately owned spaces set aside for public use, and more than 200 Open Streets."

Karesia Batan, founder of the Queensboro Dance Festival, has repeatedly navigated New York City's complicated permitting system to stage 30-40 free dance performances annually in Queens since 2014. The city's permitting process involves multiple agencies with overlapping guidelines for block parties, street festivals, stages, tents, and speakers. Batan notes that only well-funded organizations like Governors Ball and SummerStage can easily manage these requirements, while smaller community-based groups struggle. The Design Trust for Public Space has released a report with recommendations to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and city agencies to streamline permitting procedures. These recommendations address events across 30,000 acres of parkland, nearly 600 privately owned public spaces, and over 200 Open Streets.

Read at Brownstoner