World renowned rapper and businessman Jay-Z on Wednesday wrote an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer wherein he accused the mayor’s administration of evicting his profitable music festival from a downtown corridor without formal notice.
This year will almost certainly be the last time Jay-Z’s ‘Made in America’ festival takes place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, news that the event’s principal said he learned about via a media outlet. The lack of direct communication signifies zero appreciation for what the six-year-old, minority-owned festival has built, the mogul wrote.
Mayor Jim Kenney today after a press conference regarding a favorable ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the beverage tax addressed the matter.
“First of all, I love Jay-Z,” the mayor declared.
Mr. Kenney went on to say that operational difficulties, stress on the parkway’s infrastructure and neighbors’ complaints led the city to consider other venues for the Labor Day weekend event, a fact, underpinned by a study from the Parkway Council, that Live Nation, the festival’s producer, was apprised of in April via an RFP (request for proposal).
The Mayor said when the RFP was responded to without complaint, he and others assumed all parties were agreed to a potential move. Also, at issue, was that the city communicated with Live Nation, who apparently wasn’t relaying all the details to Roc Nation and Jay-Z.
“We are in discussion with the right people now and I’m confident we will work everything out,” the mayor said. “We love the concert and want to keep it.”
Jay-Z wasn’t the only one who learned about a move of ‘Made in America’ from the news. City Council President Darrell Clarke on Wednesday said he learned of the decision from the radio.
I’m not clear on how all of this happened, the councilman said. “I got no notification,” he added.
Nonetheless, the City Council President backed up the Mayor by stating that complaints about events on the parkway are longstanding and he’s in favor of minimizing the use of that area for large-scale events.
Every year, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway plays host to the Fourth of July’s Welcome America concert. In 2015, the parkway hosted Pope Francis and the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families. In 2016, former U.S. President Barack Obama visited the area for a Hillary Clinton campaign rally.
Jay-Z said the Parkway captures the freedom and spirt of inclusivity that “drew us to the City of Brotherly Love” and that the location is “integral to the pulse of the festival.”
Mayor Kenney said there are four or five other places that could host ‘Made in America’ but provided no further comment.
4th District City Councilman Curtis Jones, who attended today’s press conference, blurted out: “We’ll take it!” Mr. Jones said Concourse Lane in West Philly would welcome the traffic.
According to Jay-Z, ‘Made in America’ pays $3.4 million in rent to the City of Philadelphia and since 2012 has had an economic impact of $102.8 million.
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