New York Bitcoin Block Party Voted down by Community Board

by Leon Pick
    New York Bitcoin Block Party Voted down by Community Board
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    A Manhattan community board has recently blocked a Bitcoin decentralization block party from taking place.

    The Bitcoin-themed event would have included "a DJ, female hip hop artist, backup singers, and handpicked skateboarders pulling street tricks," as well as the opportunity to buy stuff with bitcoin. Previous ads for the event have featured both Bitcoin and Zetacoin.

    It is organized by GMT Tavern, a bar located in Greenwich Village, and Cut Rush Creative Labs, a Brooklyn-based film company specializing in digital currencies.

    A document indicates that the board recommended denial of the event and unanimously approved the motion by a vote of 37-0. The board deemed that "this event is proposed by a loose group of individuals who are supporters of decentralized currencies like Bitcoin to promote its use, and who are not a formal organization registered as a non-profit with either the State of New York or the IRS, and who primarily live in Brooklyn and have no 'indigenous relationship' with this area." The bar's location was considered merely as "a matter of convenience," and the board sees no way how it is meaningfully tied to the community.

    Some have accused the board of bias against Bitcoin. Cut Rush's Van Nguyen told Cointelegraph that, while he doesn't think this is the case, he still has trouble understanding the rationale for the decision:

    "What I don't understand are the countless food events where it's just funnel cake and kebab stands. The community board argument is that my event doesn't improve the community and I'm not from that neighborhood. I'm sure most of the kabob stands aren't from the area either."

    Nguyen envisions the event as part of a broader push to have local merchants accept bitcoin.

    A Manhattan community board has recently blocked a Bitcoin decentralization block party from taking place.

    The Bitcoin-themed event would have included "a DJ, female hip hop artist, backup singers, and handpicked skateboarders pulling street tricks," as well as the opportunity to buy stuff with bitcoin. Previous ads for the event have featured both Bitcoin and Zetacoin.

    It is organized by GMT Tavern, a bar located in Greenwich Village, and Cut Rush Creative Labs, a Brooklyn-based film company specializing in digital currencies.

    A document indicates that the board recommended denial of the event and unanimously approved the motion by a vote of 37-0. The board deemed that "this event is proposed by a loose group of individuals who are supporters of decentralized currencies like Bitcoin to promote its use, and who are not a formal organization registered as a non-profit with either the State of New York or the IRS, and who primarily live in Brooklyn and have no 'indigenous relationship' with this area." The bar's location was considered merely as "a matter of convenience," and the board sees no way how it is meaningfully tied to the community.

    Some have accused the board of bias against Bitcoin. Cut Rush's Van Nguyen told Cointelegraph that, while he doesn't think this is the case, he still has trouble understanding the rationale for the decision:

    "What I don't understand are the countless food events where it's just funnel cake and kebab stands. The community board argument is that my event doesn't improve the community and I'm not from that neighborhood. I'm sure most of the kabob stands aren't from the area either."

    Nguyen envisions the event as part of a broader push to have local merchants accept bitcoin.

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