The New York City Mayor’s Office of Citywide Event Coordination & Management (CECM) is pleased to announce the Citywide Events Advisory Group. Leading members of New York City’s events community have been tapped to re-imagine event models and standards for safely proceeding with events in the five boroughs. Over the course of the past months, this group has collaborated with CECM to strategize best practices, share industry-wide solutions and recommend innovations and protocols for events.
“New York City is the premier location for events in public spaces across the globe,” says Ellyn Canfield, executive director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of CECM. “Now more than ever, we must come together to find ways to safely celebrate our strong communities, deliver services and begin the process of rebuilding our public life. The CECM team and I are honored to be among the smartest and most passionate problem solvers with our Events Advisory Group, and I’m confident that together with the ideas and creativity of New Yorkers, we will continue to lead the world in event innovation opportunity.”
The following list includes external participants of the Citywide Events Advisory Group:
Mark Shulman, former senior VP, The Bowery Presents
Heather Collamore, VP, metropolitan hospitality at New York Mets Citifield
Evan Korn, CEO, IDEKO
Dawn Padmore, VP of culinary marketing and events, Karlitz & Company
Tom Bussey, founder and principal, Production Glue, LLC
Dr. Stu Weiss, CEO, Intelligent Crowd Solutions
Jim Heim, SVP of event development and production, NYRR; Race Director, TCS NYC Marathon
Dave Meyers, COO and VP production, Diversified Production Services LLC
Zoe Gorringe, event manager, NYC Pride
Chris Bannon, VP of production operations, Macy’s Branded Entertainment
Alex Pollak, president, ParaDocs Worldwide Inc
Greta Knutzen, senior advisor, Public Art for Production
Jennifer Stiles, director of festivals and events, Founders Entertainment
Mike Bogosian, senior director, Sequel Tour Solutions
Andrew Formichella, owner, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Rob Ashe, director of operations, Clearview Festival Productions
Tom Harris, senior VP, Times Square Alliance BID
Stefanie Davidowitz, operations producer, Times Square New Year’s Eve at Countdown
Rob Hagedorn, managing director of account services and partner solutions, CSM Sport & Entertainment
Chuck Garelick, VP of special event services, Elite Investigations
Elliot Winick, president, Winick Productions LLC
Alexandra Stylianos, director of operations, Food Network & Cooking Channel
Laura Smaragdakis, VP and treasurer, GSS Security Services LLC
Sharon Miller, president, Coast to Coast Permits
Joe Tinkelman, director of food and beverage, Best Beverage
Robyn Henry, senior producer, Production Glue LLC
Scott Campbell, owner, Soup’s On Entertainment
Tracy Kessler, owner, TK New York
Rory McEvoy, president, Area 4 LLC
Lisa Hall, COO and partner, Agency 21 Consulting
Jihae Jeon, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Shane Davis, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Darrell Dent, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Sheena Dee Singh, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Jennifer Ching, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Frank Maranda, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Brigitte Bozer, architect, A. Form Event Architects pllc
Ben Hindman, CEO, Splash
Established in March 2007, the Mayor’s Office of CECM was signed into Executive Order (No. 100), authorizing the agency with the oversight of all event permitting activity in New York City. CECM advises and assists the Mayor in the coordination of policies, procedures and operations common to the permitting, review and coordination of street events, pedestrian plaza events and other permitted activities citywide. As part of its mission, CECM is responsible for inter-agency coordination and external dissemination of information about upcoming and ongoing public events, including outdoor concerts, large-scale citywide events, gatherings in city parks, parades, plaza events, sporting events, street events, street festivals and water events. The Office’s goal is to ensure informed decision-making by the various permitting agencies, as well as compliance by permit applicants. CECM also acts as an internal and external resource to the event community on overall event coordination, permitting and management. During the course of the pandemic, with most events on hold, CECM staff implemented events strategies and coordinated citywide relief efforts, from temporary hospitals to food distribution sites. Moving forward, CECM will continue supporting efforts to best utilize public spaces and meet the changing needs of our communities, while developing standards and protocols for a new landscape of events.
The Mayor’s Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO) issues permits for block parties, commercial and promotional events, farmers markets, street festivals and other events on the city’s streets, sidewalks and pedestrian plazas. In September 2007, SAPO was merged into CECM by Executive Order (No. 105). As a result, the agency exercises all functions, powers and duties pertaining to street activity permits while protecting the interests of the city, the community and the public.
For more info, visit www1.nyc.gov/site/cecm/index.page.
