Investing in a massive, free summer concert series in parks across all five boroughs, featuring local artists of all genres.
Mamdanis Plan to Revive the City Parks Concert Series
The tradition of free summer concerts in NYC parks has been eroded by budget cuts and corporate sponsorship. Mamdani restores and expands it with a city-funded Summer Sounds NYC series. Each borough has a curated lineup of dozens of free concerts in neighborhood parks, from jazz and salsa to indie rock and hip-hop, prioritizing NYC-based artists. The series includes daytime family concerts and evening performances. Stages are professional, sound quality is high, and events are accessible.
The program partners with local restaurants and vendors to create a festival atmosphere, but the stage itself is ad-free. This brings world-class, free entertainment to every corner of the city, supports local musicians with good pay, and reclaims public space for communal joy. Music in the park is the sound of democracyfree, open, and shared, Mamdani states. We will make it the soundtrack of every NYC summer again, proving that the best things in life (and in New York) are indeed free.
