The Seaside Concert Series is expected to get the green light as Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to sign off on legislation today that will save the Coney Island concerts.

The shows were placed on hold after nearby synagogues complained that the noise would disrupt their congregations.

The Sea Breeze Jewish Center and Temple Beth Abraham filed a lawsuit citing a 1935 city code that prohibits sound permits to be issued within 500 feet of places of worship.

Since then, the City Council approved a pilot program where decibels, and not just distance, determine whether sound permits should be granted. That would allow the concert series to go forward.

The first show is scheduled for Thursday featuring Neil Sedaka.

Critics say the city is manipulating the law. [NY 1]

Continue reading "Mayor To Sign Sound Permit Bill For Outdoor Concerts"

" Gov. Paterson is going nuclear in the political fight over New York's now-expired ticket scalping law. The state's 2007 scalping law, which removed price caps on the resale of tickets, expired Saturday.

As a result, Paterson is firing off a letter to 56 ticket brokers, including StubHub, reminding them a more restrictive law passed in the 1920s is back in effect. According to Paterson aides, that law prohibits the selling of tickets for more than $2 above face value.

And it prohibits primary sellers like Ticketmaster from tacking on service and delivery fees.

"Ticket resellers must act in accordance with the laws of New York State," the Paterson administration says in a copy of the letter, obtained by the Daily News." [Daily News]

"Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.) will announce federal legislation intended to overhaul the concert ticket industry and improve fans' chances of scoring tickets to their favorite acts.

The BOSS ACT (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing) [which is a clever acronym based on Bruce Springsteen's nickname] will require primary ticket sellers to disclose the number of tickets available for sale to the public and the number held back for fan clubs, presales and artist allocations, Pascrell told The Star-Ledger.

The bill would also prohibit brokers from purchasing tickets during the first 48 hours of the primary sale. It also makes it illegal for any primary ticket seller, promoter, artist or their employees to resell tickets to events they are involved in at more than their face value." [The Star Ledger]