As I am sure you are aware, there is currently a lot of contention and heated/troublesome back-and-forth online about the upcoming Omer Adam Concert at Steppingstone.

The residents who are critiquing and questioning the concert are doing so because precedence has been broken with regards to weekend concerts since before blockbuster artists have been introduced, and even more-so with this concert.

As long as concerts have been offered, they have been free of charge with no differentiation between attendees.  Everyone sat in the same area. Everyone enjoyed a varied/diverse summer of programming, together in community spirit!

• Then in a park where no alcohol is permitted, a VIP sectioned popped up. This afforded people for a hefty price, alcohol, food and the chance to be apart from the community at-large.  This is not what a tax-receiving entity should be doing.
• Next, the big artists came to town, and GNPD residents could no longer bring guests to the concerts.  That hadn’t been the case before.
• Now with this latest special event, anyone who wants to attend must pay (and those who think they are special enough now pay twice the previous VIP price).

Again, what has been concerning and is becoming MORE concerning is the breaking of precedence.  Once this occurs, a door opens to more of the same. We are seeing that.

Additionally, because this particular artist happens to be Israeli, the people who are pointing out in a public forum your decision on charging a fee, your unexplained breaking of established practice, are being labeled/insinuated to be anti-Israel or worse, antisemitic (on top of just the normal old, cheap, whiners, poor sports)!  This has devolved into a very sad and unfortunate situation.

The GNPD needs to make a public statement about why/how this particular concert came to be on a night that was traditionally free and how you reached a consensus that it was acceptable to charge residents.  Moving forward, keep Saturday/Sunday programming free.

If an additional/special concert will be offered, schedule it for another evening and advertise it as such with the transparency that the cover charge is offsetting the artist and security expenses to ensure you are being fiscally responsible and staying within your budget.  A little transparency goes a long way!

Karen Bardash

Great Neck