Black Lives Matter Rally Canceled In Ossining

OSSINING, NY — The Black Lives Matter Rally scheduled for Saturday in Louis Engel Park has been canceled as controversy continues over the illegal concert held at the waterfront last weekend.

Rally organizers Douglas Oliver and Spencer Thomas said on Facebook that their event had been canceled by town authorities over concerns with the state's pandemic guidelines limiting the size of gatherings. Ossining town officials said the organizers had taken the initiative to postpone it.

Town officials said in a letter to residents that given the controversial concert dubbed a protest, "they have difficult decisions to make regarding use of our public spaces."

Concert promoter Brian Johnson went ahead Aug. 22 despite being denied a permit, bringing a generator to the stage since police had turned the electricity off. About 250 people attended the concert and Johnson complained that police were stifling free speech. SEE: Ossining Man Who Held Illegal Concert Faces Fine

Black Lives Matter rally organizers Spencer Thomas and Douglas Oliver urged their supporters to be active. "Please encourage everyone to register to vote, support the mission of the NAACP, and to also support and value our Black Community, which will continue to peacefully challenge injustice and fight for equality in this country."

"We appreciate the cooperation and professionalism of the organizers of this Black Lives Matter Rally in postponing their event to a time when they can host it safely and in their intended format," Ossining police said on Facebook. "When the time comes that this event can go forward, the Ossining Police Department will be there to provide appropriate support."

Here's the town council's full statement:

This past weekend, an event was scheduled to be held at Louis Engel Park. The Town had previously denied a permit for this event. The Town has not, and will not, issue permits for events in our parks that clearly go against Governor Cuomo’s Executive Orders regarding events. That being said, we are all still afforded our First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and several protests have been held on public property in the Town of Ossining, as well as elsewhere throughout the County, the State and the Country, within the past few months. As advertisements of Saturday’s events were circulated, the Ossining Police Department received an opinion from the Westchester County Department of Health that the event, as advertised, would violate the Governor’s Executive Orders and State guidance restricting the size of public gatherings and prohibiting concerts and performances. The Ossining Police Department and Town began taking steps to cancel this event, including shutting power off to the Louis Engel Park stage and communicating with the organizer. Despite these attempts, and without permission from the Town, the organizer continued on with this event utilizing generator power. The Ossining Police Department was faced with the difficult task of maintaining safety in this public space. Ultimately, the event continued, primarily as a concert, and as a result, the organizer will need to face consequences for his actions. We know the Ossining Police Department made the best decision available to them in the moment, and their professionalism and measured approach was key to ensuring the safety of our community to the best extent possible. Ossining Police Chief Kevin Sylvester joined our Town Board meeting yesterday evening to discuss what took place. [ ... ] We also recently learned that the organizer of a peaceful rally originally planned for Louis Engel Park this coming Saturday decided to postpone the event. Yesterday, the Town Supervisor communicated with the organizer who said he wanted to postpone, so that he could be sure the event would be in compliance with all regulations identified in the Governor’s Executive Orders relating to events of this type. He is looking forward to being able to have the event when the pandemic and size restrictions have been lifted. Now, moving forward the Town has some difficult decisions to make regarding use of our public spaces. This is an unusually challenging time, as we do everything we can to remain vigilant and protect our community’s health. We spoke with the Governor’s office and are awaiting additional guidance regarding what types of events are permissible under the Executive Orders. In the meantime, we plan on communicating with people who are attempting to plan events, to reschedule them for when we can be sure they are in compliance with these orders. We also hope to have a public discussion at a Work Session in the near future regarding events in our parks following receipt of additional guidance from the Governor’s Office. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this complicated issue. Sincerely, Dana Levenberg, Town Supervisor Jackie Shaw, Deputy Town Supervisor Elizabeth Feldman, Councilmember Gregory Meyer, Councilmember Northern Wilcher, Jr., Councilmember