In the aftermath of the fatal shooting that took the life of a young teen after a 404 Day celebration earlier this month, legislation aimed at increasing scrutiny of events hosted at Piedmont Park is raising discrimination concerns.
Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan was inundated with hundreds of calls and emails following the April 4 fatal shooting of Tianah Robinson in his district. In response, he introduced a resolution on Monday to create a special events advisory group that decides which formal events receive permits to take place in Piedmont Park.
The 200-acre green space sits at the intersection of majority white and wealthy neighborhoods, including Virginia Highlands, Ansley Park and Morningside-Lenox Park, located on the city’s north side.
Some view the park as a dividing line between the city’s majority white upper class neighborhoods to the north and less-affluent, majority Black neighborhoods to the south and southwest.
It’s where Robinson, 16, a North Clayton High School student, was killed less than three weeks ago after shots rang out following the conclusion of the 404 Day festival.
Italia Wilson, 15, was also shot in the shoulder during the incident. Both Wilson and Robinson were innocent bystanders when a reported nearby dispute between two or more unknown individuals began. No related arrests have been made. The city has issued a $15,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
The horrific tragedy has sparked debate in neighboring communities about whether 404 Day, a celebration of Atlanta culture, has gotten out of control in recent years. City leaders have battled criticism that they aren’t properly preparing for 404 Day.
“Can government fix government?” commenter John Z Fox wrote on Facebook.
“Imagine that. No surprises here. The usual suspects,” added Facebook user David Cagle.
It’s not just the shooting.
Traffic gridlock led enraged motorists to speed up and down side streets in the neighborhoods surrounding Piedmont Park. Throngs of parked cars crowded residential streets. Locals complained about visitors drinking alcohol and using drugs in public as well as blaring loud music and revving engines.
Some City Council meeting attendees questioned on Monday whether Atlanta is ready for the World Cup in June. Morningside resident Jocinda Sullivan told lawmakers that the 404 Day festival caused “horrific traffic” on Monroe Drive, a major street that runs north and south along Piedmont Park’s east side.
“Nobody could move when the 404 festival was on,” Sullivan said. “I happened to be on the street. Two police cars had to drive on the other side of the road, weave in and out of traffic. People crossing the road. I’m surprised there wasn’t another accident. … It’s just not acceptable.”
All the commotion has some comparing 404 Day to Freaknik, the annual spring break party that became notorious for rowdy behavior and traffic congestion during the 1990s.
In a Monday Saporta Report column, executive editor Maria Saporta, a self-described Atlanta native and “lifetime patron of Piedmont Park,” said the green space can’t handle the city’s 404 Day and Dogwood festivals during back-to-back weekends, suggesting the latter should be prioritized over the former.
“The city should offer other possible locations to 404 Day Festival out of consideration for the wear and tear on Piedmont Park,” Saporta wrote. “It has been especially hard this year because we’re in the middle of a drought and the park’s grounds are in a fragile state.”
But 404 Day organizers have complained their events are being unfairly tarnished by the actions of a few.
Atlanta Influences Everything cofounder Bem Joiner is one of the leaders of the 404 Collective, which organizes several annual 404 Day weekend events, including the 404 Fund Scholarship Gala where over $200,000 has been given out since the event started, the 404 Day 5k Race, and the 404 Day! Parade.
Joiner pointed out that the 404 Day event at Piedmont Park was organized by 808Fest owner and operator Ricky Rothstein, who is white.
While Joiner agreed with Wan that more needs to be done to promote public safety for 404 Day events, he took issue with Black 404 Day event organizers being scrutinized more because of what happened in the aftermath of Rothstein’s gathering.
Joiner said he and other 404 Collective leaders have received numerous calls and media interview requests about what happened at an event they had nothing to do with.
“Not only did nobody get killed or [have] a problem at any of our events, we gave out money at the parade,” Joiner told Capital B Atlanta during a Tuesday phone interview. “Everybody really needs to be talking to Ricky Rothstein. ”
Rothstein told Atlanta News First on Monday that there were 10 Atlanta Police officers and 15 private security guards in the park during the event, which exceeded what the city legally required. He said the permit he acquired for the event allowed for 1,999 people, but infrastructure was in place to support as many as 15,000.
“We were blindsided; we didn’t realize the gravity that we had,” Ricky told Atlanta News First. “I’m not here to deflect accountability. I’m here to acknowledge that I could have done more and need to do better.”
There are varying reports on how large the crowd at Piedmont Park was on 404 Day.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters on April 6 that the crowd didn’t exceed 1,200 people. He noted during a press conference that the shooting took place after the festival on another side of the park and called on parents to help the city enforce its youth curfew law. The law bars anyone under age 17 from being in public spaces or businesses unsupervised in the city from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from midnight to 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“These are precautions we are asking you to take in metro Atlanta,” Dickens said. “We don’t want to parent for you. It’s your job to parent. If you break curfew, both you and your kid will be in trouble. We have laws for that, and we actually have been taking those laws to the fullest extent possible.”
Wan told his constituents via email following the annual holiday that he shared their concerns and had similar questions about how the city handles 404 Day infrastructure, event permitting and safety protocols.
“I certainly recognize that Saturday’s events extend beyond the one permitted event in the park, but I feel that it provides an excellent case study for all the elements and factors to take into consideration in exploring a tighter process for the future,” Wan wrote in an emailed statement provided to Capital B Atlanta.
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