Summer Jam still on, despite Nassau attempt to ban outdoor concert

Hot 97's Summer Jam, the annual hip-hop festival, is still happening despite Nassau County’s attempt to ban some of it.

The administration of County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Thursday petitioned to stop an outdoor concert associated with the annual event, scheduled for Sunday at UBS Arena in Elmont. 

The court filing, which came more than a month after the concert was announced, cited security concerns, “riot like behavior," past "nuisances" and incendiary remarks against police at previous Summer Jams.

Lawyers for the concert organizers said Nassau was exaggerating security concerns and prospective attendance figures and violating free speech laws.

Organizers had not been warned during the planning stages about any issues, and were surprised to learn of the filing three days before the concert date, lawyers said.

Timothy Sini, the former Suffolk County District Attorney and a lawyer for the concert's organizers, said in a court filing: “Nowhere in its papers does the County cite deficiencies in the security measures and precautions … nor does it identify a specific security threat that prompts it to take the extraordinary step of seeking an injunction" against the concert.

Sini continued: “Robust security protocols have been developed in connection with the event, like other events at UBS Arena … ”

Nassau County officials backed off the filing on Friday and said concert organizers would contribute $80,000 to cover the cost of the county police department's role in policing the event.

"We're really happy we came to a resolution and can put on our hip-hop show," said Brad Tobin, president, chief operating officer and general counsel of MediaCo Holding Inc., which owns Hot 97.

"We feel that hip-hop is constantly under attack, and we stand firm as the megaphone for the music, the culture and the movement," Tobin said.

A UBS spokeswoman said: “We’ve resolved the pending matter to everyone’s satisfaction. The safety of our patrons, staff and neighbors are our utmost priority for all events. The arena will continue to regularly communicate with county and state law enforcement.”

County officials did not say why they waited until three days before the concert to challenge it or whether they had tried to prevent others from taking place.

In 2022, Blakeman sent a letter to UBS Arena operators, asking them to ban rapper Roddy Ricch's scheduled performance after comments about the police, according to the New York Post. 

In a statement addressing Summer Jam, Blakeman said there were "security issues that were presented to the county, that have now been addressed in an amicable way between the promoters, the arena and the Nassau County Police."

"My job is to make sure that all communities are protected, and in this case my primary concern is the beautiful hamlet of Elmont," said Blakeman, a Republican.

Nassau County Legis. Carrié Solages (D-Lawrence) said: “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 noted that Blakeman spoke at a rally in Manhattan on May 24 to support a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Suffolk County who was arrested by the NYPD on a charge of fatally choking a homeless man aboard a New York City subway train. Blakeman's remarks were disrupted several times by counterdemonstrators.

Blakeman said he attended out of concern for the safety of Nassau residents who travel to the city.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.