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Cuomo vowed to investigate the purported drive-in “Safe & Sound” benefit concert in Southampton after hundreds gathered for a celebration violating state COVID-19 mandates.
The planned “drive-in” concert was only supposed to reach a capacity of 500 cars and an estimated 3,000 people, headlined by The Chainsmokers.
Currently, gatherings of more than 50 people who cannot socially distance are banned in New York.
“Videos from a concert held in Southampton on Saturday show egregious social distancing violations. I am appalled,” Cuomo stated. “The Department of Health will conduct an investigation.
“We have no tolerance for the illegal & reckless endangerment of public health.”
New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker sent a letter this week to Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman noting that the sate is still in a state of emergency due to COVID-19 and that he was “greatly disturbed” by the reports of “thousands of people in close proximity, out of their vehicles, a VIP area where there was no pretense of a vehicle, and generally not adhering to social distancing guidance.”
“I am at a loss as to how the Town of Southampton could have issued a permit for such an event, how they believed it was legal and not an obvious public health threat,” he wrote.
“I never would have permitted the event,” Schneiderman said to the New York Post. “The organizers will be cited for that.”
In a statement issued Monday, July 27, the concert’s producers, In The Know Experiences and Invisible Noise said they “made best efforts to ensure New York’s social distancing guidelines were properly maintained throughout the event” and “collaborated with all state and local health officials to keep everyone safe.”
This is a developing story. Check Daily Voice for updates as new information becomes available.
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