Just days after video and photos surfaced of lewd behavior, underage drinking and public urination during a free outdoor concert, Philly’s trendy NoLibs neighborhood pulled away the welcome mat for future block parties with the radio station that hosted the bash.
"There will be no more of the concert series with Radio 104.5 taking place at the Piazza," spokeswoman Rachel Reichblum said on behalf of Kushner Companies, which is the majority owner of the Piazza at Schmidt's.
Radio 104.5’s Summer Block Party was held at the Piazza last Saturday. Northern Liberties residents complained that the free event turned into an out-of-control party -- featuring intoxicated teens having sex in public and urinating on the street. One neighbor recorded two teens having sex out in the open.
"My entire house was peed on, people were having sex two feet in front of my children and everyone was drunk that day,” said Sibyl Lindsay of Northern Liberties.
According to neighbors, there was a lack of both security and port-a-potties during the free concert featuring Phantogram & Chvrches.
Lindsay, the mother of two toddlers, said she has spent a frustrating week trying to find out who is ultimately responsible for the party. "I'm fighting to have my property, as well as my neighbor's cleaned up," she said. "And I've never seen the buck passed more."
After complaining in person and in writing to the Piazza management company, Westminster Management, Lindsay did get copied on a email from Laurence P. Rabinowitz, the general counsel for Kushner Companies.
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In the email, Rabinowitz admonishes the promoter of the event and advises him to make things right with Lindsay.
"It's not fair to my kids," said Lindsay, who said she did get an email on Friday from a total stranger about clean-up. They asked for her home address. Because the email didn't come from a company account or any of the parties involved, she wasn't comfortable giving out her private information.
Late Friday, she was planning to clean the yard herself.
"No one is willing to stand up and handle an 'oh s***' moment," said Lindsay.
On Tuesday, Clear Channel, the owner of Radio 104.5 did issue a statement apologizing for the behavior of fans. On Friday, the company reiterated the message and for fans, partially addressed the question of where other summer events will be held:
We apologize for any of our fans who may have had a less than enjoyable experience at this past weekend’s block party. For the past few years, we’ve brought free, quality concerts to Philadelphia. As these shows have become more popular and larger in crowd size, we’ve worked with our partners at the Piazza to have them increase security and facilities to accommodate. Due to the continued increase in interest from fans, we recently announced that we’re moving the June event to the newly remodeled Festival Pier which has a larger capacity and more viewing space.
Clear Channel Spokeswoman Loraine Ballard Morrill said that moving June 7's The Head & The Heart Block Series concert to the Festival Pier was decided upon before the concerns developed over Saturday's bash..
Morrill said venues for the remaining three summer concerts have not been determined.
