After music festival cancellation, Baltimore city leaders spar over blame
Baltimore City Councilman Mark Conway said political disputes are to blame for the cancellation of a local music festival that his office organized.
The Heart of the 4th music and arts festival was scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19. The family-friendly event would have shut down a half mile of York Road to bring live entertainment, food and local businesses to the community.
It was organized through a partnership between the Office of Baltimore City Councilman Mark Conway and the York Road Improvement District.
"To highlight the great businesses, the great organizations, the great neighborhoods of the 4th District," Conway said.
Councilman blames mayor's office
On Tuesday, Councilman Conway announced the festival's cancellation. He claims Mayor Brandon Scott put up last-minute barriers that made it impossible to hold the event on York Road and called it an act of political retaliation. The mayor's office said it raised public safety concerns that were not addressed.
"My staff and I have worked tirelessly to meet every hurdle placed ahead of us by city agencies, no matter how arbitrary or irregular," Conway said in a statement. "We engaged their shifting demands in good faith, with no expectation that this event would be governed by procedures that deviate from the numerous events we have participated in."
Conway said his office was notified about new hurdles that "defy both precedent and common sense" five days before the event was scheduled to take place.
"The people see what's going on here," Conway said. "You don't shut down an event with 175 vendors the week of."
The councilman believes this outcome stems from a disagreement with the Scott Administration on the city's Youth Fund.
"The administration took $7 million out of the Youth Fund to go towards mayoral initiatives, and I disagreed on how that was done," Conway said.
Mayor's office responds
In response, the mayor's office said it met with Conway and explained the safety risks associated with the event. The mayor's office also said it provided alternative locations that would be acceptable.
The city claims Conway rejected the proposed alternatives and continued to promote the event without receiving the necessary permits.
"The Mayor's Office has met repeatedly in good faith with Councilman Conway regarding event permit requests for the Heart of the 4th event. Throughout those conversations, our office, in consultation with the Fire Department and DOT, relayed prohibitive concerns regarding the legitimate public safety issues presented with closing down such a large portion of York Road for the event," the Mayor's Office said in a statement.
Conway shut those remarks down, saying he and organizers suggested a smaller footprint, which wasn't considered.
He said the options that the city offered were "To move the event to in front of a juvenile detention center," Conway said. "The other consideration was to put it on a parking lot of a school."
The York Road Improvement District said it is actively planning a new event for some time in late August.
"I extend my deepest apologies to the vendors preparing for this day, to my partners at the York Road Improvement District who worked tirelessly towards this event, and to my constituents across the 4th District," Conway said.
