The Great Lawn in Central Park will reopen on Saturday, April 6, months after it was damaged and closed off to the public, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation said Monday.

The city closed the lawn earlier than usual last year after it sustained extensive damage during the annual Global Citizen Festival in September. The lawn is normally closed to the public each year for maintenance between November and April.

What You Need To Know

  • Months after the Central Park Great Lawn was damaged and closed off to the public, the lawn will reopen this Saturday
  • The city closed the lawn earlier than normal last fall after the area sustained extensive damage during the Global Citizen Festival
  • The use of heavy equipment and intense foot traffic mixed with heavy rain falling in Central Park before, during and after last year's festival damaged a large portion of the lawn
  • The festival will return to the Great Lawn for its 12th year on Saturday, Sept. 28

In a joint press release Monday, the Parks Department and Global Citizen said the 55-acre space would reopen on schedule.  

“After heavy rain before, during and after last year’s Global Citizen Festival in September, the damage to the Great Lawn was assessed, and Global Citizen’s Board of Directors paid for all repairs that were requested,” the release said.

The Global Citizen Festival will return to the Great Lawn for its 12th year on Saturday, Sept. 28, the release added.

The annual music festival offers free tickets to fans who take actions aimed at ending poverty, including signing petitions and contacting world leaders and elected officials.

Thousands of people attend the festival each year. Global Citizen will announce this year's lineup and ticketing information in the coming months, according to the release.

In a statement, Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said the Great Lawn “has a long and celebrated history of hosting live events that thrill New Yorkers and visitors alike, from Simon & Garfunkel to the NY Philharmonic.”

“The Global Citizen Festival is more than just a good time for music lovers — it’s a call to action, inspiring us to be active citizens of the world in the fight against poverty, inequity, and climate change,” Donoghue said. “I look forward to joining thousands of New Yorkers and visitors out on the Great Lawn for this celebration of music and activism.”