Mayor leaves door open to resuming rained-out NYC homecoming concert

ByKemberly Richardson WABC logo

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Mayor leaves door open to resuming rained-out NYC homecoming concert

After lightning and torrential rain forced the concert to be canceled, de Blasio is floating the idea that the show must go on, saying there's unfinished business.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- It was supposed to be a celebration of New York City's comeback, but storms on Saturday cut the big star-studded concert short.

On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio faced questions about what led to the confusion and whether the show would be rescheduled.

"Anyone who saw it, anyone who was there is feeling a great sense of loss," he said.

Crews were breaking down all that was left of what was - at least for roughly 2.5 hours - NYC's shining moment.

More than 60,000 people gathered on the Great Lawn in Central Park to celebrate the Big Apple's comeback from COVID.

But then as lightning struck and rain moved in, de Blasio hit the pause button.

Behind the scenes, organizers including music mogul Clive Davis and his son were coming up with a backup plan, but officials decided to end the concert due to the rain.

The mayor explained that initially Emergency Management and weather analysts told him the storm would be brief and pass, followed by a "good long stretch."

But that didn't happen. In fact, between 10 and 11 that night, it ended up being the wettest hour on record for New York City.

But now the mayor is floating the idea that the show must go on, saying there's unfinished business.

"We are going to be meeting in the next few days to consider options," de Blasio said.

The mayor says he will keep everyone in the loop in terms of details for the homecoming concert 2.0.

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