MOBY PLAYS FOR NEW YORK EAST RIVER PARK

Moby hosted and performed at a benefit for the Coastal Marine Resource Center, which seeks to rehabilitate NYC’s waterways and public waterfront access. Keyw…

Moby was on-hand to perform at a fundraiser at the East River Park Amphitheater in Manahattan, New York City on Thursday (July 13). The Electro-rocker joined Laura Dawn and Daron Murphy for a set as guests enjoyed coctains and food with proceeds going to benefit the Coastal Marine Resource Center. One of the goals of the center is to raise awareness for coastal conservation and public waterfront access, one of which is East River Park.

The park is in need of repair, as both the walkways and amphitheater are in need of an overhaul. Moby grew up close to the park and said it was a special place.

“I grew up around here, and I spent so much time in this particular park, and the issue of cleaning up the waterways and I think it’s just incredibly important, and selfishly I benefit becuase this is my neighborhood. Well I remember the park in the late ’80s and it was really rough. I mean it has a cetain charm. The old bandshell… I have to say I really miss the old bandshell because it was covered in graffiti and it was this beautiful relic from the time of Robert Moses and it was a beautiful iconic structure.”

The park is a symbol of the refacing of the New York City shorelines and parks, and Moby talked about the challenge of making the land livable for residents and tourists.

“I love what they’re doing for the east river park. I love what they’re doing for the parks in general in New York… for the longest time the coastal area around New York City was all industrial. It was wharfs and piers and it was all based around shipping, and especially in Williamsburg and Greenpoint it was all industrial factories and then as NY stopped being an industrial facory base and New York stopped being a leading port of the world, the piers closed down and the factories closed down, but they didn’t get cleared away. So you had all this abandoned real estate on the water and the rich people moved to the middle of Manhattan, and the fringes were just no man’s land. I think people are now just redescovering and remembering that New York is a coastal city and that Manhattan is an island. One of the things that makes New York so special is it’s surrounded by water. It’s one of our most precious resources. Just imagine of Manhatt

Moby has played with Dawn and Murphy for various event for Moveon.org, which seeks to have health coverage for all Americans and to create energy independence from middle east oil.