Less than 48 hours to go

We got the sound permit from the precinct & are ready to go! All transportation, sound rental, etc etc reservations have been made; we have balloons, sidewalk chalk, and some caution tape (just in case); we’ve checked weather.com a million times; we hunted everyone down & they’ve either confirmed that they’ll be at the party (hooray!) or backed out (which made us very very sad).

But the party will go on!

no parking

Nothing can stop us now! It’s official!

One more week!

Everything’s almost set – we even have a schedule for the party! All that’s left is to pick up our permit from the city & our sound permit from the precinct, confirm with a couple organizations, and reserve our equipment rentals. We’re pretty nervous & excited. How about you?

We’re also very happy to have the LES BID working with us on this event. The blood bank needs help right now, so the BID is going to have a blood drive at the block party. Please show them your support and donate.

See you soon!

CB3 Approves!

We didn’t have to go to the full board meeting. It’s amazing that they post the votes online so quickly. Also, CB3 seems to be very pro-block party. Phew.

Other news:

1. Bands will be picked this weekend. Monday at the latest.
2. SCORE! might have some fun, educational activities for the block party (they’re kind of local, right?).
3. New York City Coalition Against Hunger might be a part of the party too.

Thanks for checking in! As always, if you would like to join in organizing the party or an activity (especially if you’re a resident!), please email us. We will get back to you.

CB3 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting + AAFE photos

The committee gave us a hard time about having amplified sound, but voted to recommend approval for our party anyway. The full board meeting is next Tuesday and they will decide whether or not to approve our party. No word from the city yet.

The committee was also concerned about our use of a promoter. For future reference: don’t include a promoter on the application form if your party is small. The CB thinks of promoters as a professional who will be bringing in large acts or companies to a party of thousands. Our promoter is just one person who has a different full-time job. It would have been better to leave that part blank.

Also, letters from well-known non-profit organizations helped us get our party through this round of approval. Individuals are allowed to apply for block party permits, but the CB seemed wary of us and kept asking, “Who are you? Who is sponsoring this party?” The Tenement Museum and Transportation Alternatives were kind enough to provide us with letters that helped make our operation legitimate.

As promised, some photos from the AAFE party after the jump.

Permits Galore

The good news: The precinct has approved our block party application!

The bad news: I have been re-reading Community Board #3’s block party application guidelines & I might need many more signatures than I expected. There are two petition pages in the application with enough space for 26 signatures total. But the guidelines say to “obtain signatures of approval from a majority of residents and merchants on the affected block.” There are probably more than 26 residents on the block, and so far I only have 5 signatures.

More useful news (if you are interested in having a block party): We have a Google spreadsheet of information for the many permits & forms you might need. Only the first two forms are necessary. We found the information for the rest of the list back when we were ambitious & wanted to have a craft & bake sale. No more! Hopefully the spreadsheet will save you some phone calls & nyc.gov surfing.