One of the dumbest things that happened these past few weeks was the NYC Homecoming Concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Planned weeks in advance with a star-studded lineup, it coincided with Hurricane Henri reaching landfall just outside NYC. The mayor insisted that the show go on the evening of Saturday, August 21 even though he had declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm. What was expected to happen indeed happened. The skies opened up and lightning was spotted in the vicinity. The main headliners had not yet begun to take the stage when an announcement was made that people should leave the park, meaning that the remainder of the show was cancelled. However, as people were departing, Mayor de Blasio emerged and warned them not to go far because they were hoping to resume the music after the rain passed. This caused a lot of confusion among those who had waited in line upwards of 2 hours to be admitted in the first place. But Henri didn’t cooperate. Between 10 and 11pm, the worst rain in Central Park’s history fell, a second announcement that the show was over was made and the park was evacuated. Now it’s pretty dumb to have an outdoor concert in the middle of a hurricane, but it’s even dumber to announce that it’s over, then say it’s on hold, then hours later finally kill it. When lightning is a factor, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Of course, contractual obligations probably played a part in the reluctance to pull the plug, but lives should be more important than the almighty dollar.