Plattsburgh, NY

                                                                                                                                                                         

MASS GATHERINGS

             


Mass Gatherings Information

 Mass gatherings occur when a gathering is likely to attract 5,000 people or more and continue for 24 hours or more but shall not include a temporary residence under permit. The best representations of this type of an event are Phish’s Clifford Ball and the Gathering of the Vibes.

When you attend a mass gathering in New York State, this type of an event is covered by Subpart 7-1 and Part 18 of the New York State Sanitary Code. New York State Sanitary Codes Subpart 7-1 has many requirements for a promoter of a mass gathering to fulfill insure your safety and well being. Some of these requirements are crowd control, campground design, installation and maintenance of services and facilities, insuring there is enough water or fluids to drink, enough food onsite so you can eat, sanitation, traffic control and medical services. Basically, you will be living in a temporary village or city with certain required services.


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 What is the Purpose of the NY State Mass Gathering Laws?

The purpose of the Mass Gathering laws as outlined by Subpart 7-1 and Part 18 is to ensure that necessary services are provided onsite by the promoter of the mass gathering. New York State responded to the problems at the original Woodstock and other early overnight concerts by developing these mass gathering laws.

These laws ensure event traffic will be properly handled, enough parking for vehicles, proper sanitary controls, ensuring proper medical and emergency services for the attendees, enough food and water onsite for the attendees, and enough security will be provided for crowd control. All these services were missing from the early overnight concerts in the 1960s and early 1970s.


What are Some of the Steps Needed to Obtain a Mass Gathering Permit?

Subpart 7-1 requires that the promoter must complete and submit to Clinton County Health Department for its approval an “Application for a Permit to Advertise or Otherwise Promote or Hold a Mass Gathering” at least 30 days before the first day of advertising and at least 60 days before the first day of the gathering.

Clinton County Health Department recommends that a promoter contacts us as soon as possible because of the extensive plans that must be submitted. The Department recommends that the promoter submit a Notice of Intent and Application for a Permit to Advertise or Otherwise Promote or Hold a Mass Gathering as soon as possible.

Past mass gathering events have taken several months for development of acceptable engineering plans because the plan’s complexity. It is in everybody’s best interest to start as early as possible. The Department will forward addition information to the promoter including “Guidelines for Preparation of Engineering Report”, Subpart 7-1 and Part 18.
What are Some of the Topics that will be Discussed at My Appointment?

Clinton County Health Department will be requiring the promoter to attend several meetings because of the complexity of the engineer plans and the number of involved agencies who need to attend these meetings. Click here for the “What are Some of the Requirements for a Mass Gathering Engineer Report?” document.


Do the Food Vendors for a Mass Gathering Need an Operating Permit for Selling Food?

All food vendors for a mass gathering are required to have a Clinton County Health Department operation permit to sell. Click here to go to the appropriate page of this website for information and download the necessary forms to have a food service approved.

Typically, the Clinton County Health Department assigns a sanitarian for the event’s food service so all the food vendors will be working with one sanitarian for the food service permit review process.


Contact Us

To receive more information, call or visit us at:

Clinton County Health Department
Environmental Unit
135 Margaret Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Tel: (518) 565-4870
Fax: (518) 565-4843
 

                                                                          

                              Note:  These are external web links.

       
        

Clinton County does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision
of services. The information on the Clinton County Health Department website is for educational purposes only. Nothing on the pages of this site shall be construed
as medical, fitness, dietetic, or other professional advice. This information is based on current beliefs among researchers and research studies published in the
current scientific literature. Clinton County is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse any content on external web links.

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