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A Few Clouds Officials catch heat for nixing Quiksilver fest
Residents blast city for canceling music, other events
A week after city officials decided to scrap one of the most highly anticipated festival events in the city’s history, residents criticized city officials and demanded an explanation at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Many said that despite the impact of Hurricane Irene, the decision to cancel the music and action-sports festival hurt the community and local businesses that were banking on an influx of visitors.
The festival was to include a variety of exhibitions and performances intended to complement the Quiksilver Pro N.Y. surfing competition, which was on the brink of wiping out last week, after city officials said that it would be impossible to pull off in the aftermath of the storm. With many residents still without power and cleaning out flooded basements, City Manager Charles Theofan ultimately decided that the competition could still go on, but salvaging the attendant festival, encompassing music, fashion, art, skateboarding and motocross, was simply too daunting a task.
But Mark Tannenbaum, executive vice president of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, blasted the decision, telling the council that the chamber had worked with Quiksilver for the past six months to promote the event with merchants, and that Quiksilver was prepared to move forward with the festival following the storm.
Tannenbaum also said that the cancellation has made Long Beach the “laughingstock” of Long Island, and that
Quiksilver stands to lose $25 million to $30 million. Local merchants, who were expecting thousands of visitors over the course of the two-week-long event, will lose between $10 million and $14 million, he added.
“We just complimented all the city workers … that did an unbelievable job in cleaning up this town and making sure that it was ready so we can go back in business on Tuesday,” Tannenbaum said. “There wasn’t a question that the town wasn’t ready for the concert or the event. If you think they’re going to come back next year … chancing that they will be canceled, you’re crazy.”
