The Chainsmokers held a charity concert in Southampton, New York on Saturday alongside Goldman Sachs executive David M. Solomon (aka DJ D-Sol). It was called Safe & Sound. Video that surfaced from the concert appeared to show attendees flouting social distancing, and now Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a New York Department of Health investigation of the event, The New York Times reports.
“Videos from a concert held in Southampton on Saturday show egregious social distancing violations,” Cuomo wrote. “I am appalled. The Department of Health will conduct an investigation. We have no tolerance for the illegal & reckless endangerment of public health.”
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“I am at a loss as to how the Town of Southampton could have issued a permit for such an event, how they believed it was legal and not an obvious public health threat,” Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s health commissioner, wrote in a letter.
The event’s organizers, In The Know Experiences and Invisible Noise, told the Times in a statement that “all proper and current protocols” were implemented, including temperature checks and the deployment of security “to encourage mask wearing and promote social-distancing guidelines.”
The Chainsmokers Concert Under Investigation For Social Distancing Violations
The event took place at a 100-acre outdoor sculpture park in the Hamptons, Long Island on Saturday July 25. Tickets for the event ran between $1,250 to $25,000, with all profits going to local charities including Children’s Medical Fund of New York, No Kid Hungry and Southampton Fresh Air Home.
This isn’t the first time a concert has been criticized for its lack of safety concerns since the onset of the pandemic. In late June, country singer Chase Rice played a show for thousands of fans at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. Despite mandatory social distancing guidelines.