Summer Jam Held Successfully After County’s Shutdown Attempt JANET BURNS

This year’s HOT 97 Summer Jam concert at UBS Arena reportedly went off without a hitch in early June, despite an eleventh-hour attempt by County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s administration to block a portion of the event’s scheduled performances.

On June 1, Blakeman’s adminstration filed court papers seeking to block the free, outdoor performances that were scheduled as part of Summer Jam’s June 4 lineup.

This year’s lineup of new and veteran performers, headlined by Bronx native Cardi B, was announced in early April. The event also featured performances and content in honor of the 50th anniverary of hip-hop falling this year.

In court filings, Nassau County leaders argued that the cost of providing police presence for the event would be too high, and that previous installations of the annual concert had “presented threats to peace and order, requiring the intervention of law enforcement.”

The documents cited instances in 2015 and 2017 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, noting that conflicts arose and arrests were conducted in response to attendees’ frustration over either the event being sold out or over its entry protocols.

The attempt to bind organizers from holding the free, outdoor portion of this year’s event also stated, “At the 2021 Summer Jam at Madison Square Garden, one performer’s statements incited the crowd when he led a ‘f*ck the police’ chant.”

The county also alleged that Summer Jam had previously “created an atmosphere that fosters criminal behavior, disorderly conduct, trespasses, violence, and turmoil resulting in numerous arrests and injuries.”

The issue ended up getting resolved ahead of the concert, which seemingly went smoothly, according to follow-up posts and reporting on the event. But Blakeman’s administration had already drawn a fair amount of attention in our region and in the U.S. hip-hop community for the relatively last-minute move.

Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages, for one, was quick to criticize the actions of Blakeman and his team, both before and after the legal challenge was resolved.

“While it is typically my policy to never comment on County litigation, I must make an exception in this case. The harmful stereotyping contained within those papers is deeply insulting to the Black and Brown communities that form a large portion of hip-hop’s dedicated fan base, and the dog-whistle rhetoric alluding to ‘riot-like behavior’ is particularly offensive,” Solages said in a June 2 statement, also calling the county’s actions “disingenuous.”

After the legal issue was resolved, Solanges commented, “Safeguarding public safety and enhancing quality of life for my constituents will always be my top priority as a Legislator. As a lifelong resident of this area, it is my tremendous honor and privilege to serve the diverse tapestry of communities that form Nassau County’s Third Legislative District.” On June 3, Solages also noted that he had “every expectation that the Nassau County Police Department will patrol this event with the utmost professionalism and excellence as they have done throughout the year at UBS Arena-hosted events,” despite the roughly 24 hours of “unnecessary chaos” that Nassau County’s legal filings created. Immediately before the beginning of the concert, which Legislator Solages attended with family, he commented, “I am gratified that the 11th-hour political stunt by the County Executive’s administration – one that was tinged with obvious racial overtones – has failed to cancel any portion of today’s event. Moreover, I am happy to see that it has failed to dampen the enthusiasm of concertgoers – many of whom contribute to our economy as tourists ... [and] we must shift our focus toward ensuring that we never again experience this type of last-minute scrambling with any type of large-scale event.”