Ossining Man Who Held Illegal Concert Faces Fine

OSSINING, NY — Ossining police will take enforcement action against a resident who organized a weekend concert at the waterfront despite being denied a permit, said Chief Kevin Sylvester.

The promoter was identified by The Journal News as Brian Johnson, who has run a summer music festival at the waterfront for several years.

After being denied the permit for 2020, Johnson continued promoting the event. LNAO Media said that the event was a protest, but many Ossining residents looking at the posters were skeptical.

Some expressed frustration that the annual fireworks and firefighters' parade had been canceled while protests got to take place. Others said the "Summerjam" was clearly a concert and therefore in violation of the state's rules against large gatherings.

After police announced the event was canceled, had the power turned off, and stationed officers at the train station and at Louis Engel Park, Johnson brought his own generator down to the waterfront, and the event went on with about 250 people in attendance, Ossining Police Captain Jeff Giorgio told TJN.

In a Facebook post Monday, LNAO accused the police of trying to stifle the voices of the community. "The LNAO event held Sat 8/22/2020 was a protest through music ! We had musical artists expressing themselves through song and speech about the injustices that have been occurring and the wrongful deaths at the hands of the police ... Since it was a protest no permits were needed as it is our civil liberty to be able to come together as people and protest and stand up for a common cause."

As residents expressed anger that the event had been allowed to proceed, Chief Sylvester said on Facebook, "One of the biggest conversations in America right now is how police officers can avoid a use of force. I trust my staff to make smart decisions in the best interest of the community. The whole community. Last night, very competent supervisors made difficult decisions that some residents may disagree with. I back my staff’s decisions and the way they handled this 100%. They were put in a bad position by a concert promoter. That individual’s actions won’t go without consequences but it didn’t have to result in an escalation that may have necessitated in a use of force."