The COVID-19 pandemic forces us to assess risk on a daily basis in ways we’re not used to. Is visiting a friend’s home worth the risk? Or dining outdoors at a restaurant? Depending on what kind of person you are, you might answer yes or no to those activities. But as a society, we should be able to agree that some things are not worth their respective risks, and toward the top of that list should be seeing American EDM duo the Chainsmokers at a Hamptons drive-in concert with questionable enforcement of social distancing. Yet that’s how a sizable group of people spent their night on July 25, watching the DJs headline a charity show benefiting No Kid Hungry, Southampton Fresh Air Home, and the Children’s Medical Fund of New York, with tickets ranging from $1,250 to $25,000. The event had temperature checks and provided masks and hand sanitizer, according to TMZ, but video of the event doesn’t show much social distancing or mask-wearing happening at the front of the stage. Yes, charity is great and important, but that much to see the group that gave us such hits as “Selfie†and “Closer� Maybe everyone was really there for the opener, a performer named DJ D-Sol who’s actually … Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Well, so much for escaping the coronavirus in the Hamptons.
Update, July 28: The Chainsmokers are now under investigation by the State of New York for the July 25 concert, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted. “Videos from a concert held in Southampton on Saturday show egregious social distancing violations. I am appalled,†he wrote. “The Department of Health will conduct an investigation. We have no tolerance for the illegal & reckless endangerment of public health.â€
The state’s health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, also sent a letter to Southampton town supervisor Jay Schneiderman criticizing the event and asking for clarification, according to a copy of the letter provided to Vulture. “I am greatly disturbed by reports concerning the ‘drive-in’ concert held in your town this past weekend, which apparently involved thousands of people in close proximity, out of their vehicles, a VIP area where there was no pretense of a vehicle, and generally not adhering to social distancing guidance,†Zucker wrote. “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.â€
Update, July 28, 4:15 p.m.: Cuomo called the Chainsmokers concert “gross†on a call with reporters because, well, someone had to. “The concert that happened in the town of Southampton was just a gross violation of not only the public health rules — it was a gross violation of common sense,†Cuomo said. “It was grossly disrespectful to fellow New Yorkers, and the Department of Health is going to do a full investigation as to why the town of Southampton issued a permit; as to what the promoters thought they were doing; how the event as it was going on was allowed to get out of control; how the local law enforcement didn’t do anything when they saw that they had an event that was out of control and all the rules were being violated.â€