A free concert with Kanye West on Thursday is planned for right across from the Flatiron Building, and that has some residents upset.
There is a small army prepping the site at the Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza, yet many who live in the area are giving the star-studded event a frigid reception. Those in the area had hoped to put a stop to all of this.
"We're concerned with the precedence that this sets," said Nick Athanail, with Community Board 5.
The board explained to Mayor Bill de Blasio that this particular event is inappropriate in terms of scale, duration and volume, saying it's being shoe-horned into a space where it clearly doesn't belong.
Up to 10,000 people are expected to show up, with Jay-Z's Roc Nation producing the concert. The rapper's sports bar conveniently sits just off the plaza.
"We understand events like this make a lot of money for the city, but we think they need to be planned in a rational way," Athanail said. "And we think public input is required for that."
Setup began at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, and things won't be back to normal until well after the concert, which begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
"Originally, I thought I'd just move around the corner," street vendor Theresa Ciccone said. "But that's blocked off too, so we'll bite the bullet. What are we going to do?"
Ciccone, who sells scarves, says she'll lose hundreds of dollars because of all of this.
The NYPD says that beginning Thursday evening at 6 p.m., traffic will not be allowed on Fifth Avenue or Broadway between 23rd and 27th streets. They say 24th and 25th streets will also be closed between Broadway and Sixth.