The Concert in Central Park influential concert promoters, developed the idea of helping Central Park financially with a free open-air concert, under the legal guidance of Bob Donnelly. The city would use profits from merchandising, television, and video rights to renovate the park. Earlier park performances by Elton John and James Taylor showed that this concept could be a success. Davis authorized the project, and Delsener entered discussions with cable TV channel HBO to decide who would perform. They decided on Simon & Garfunkel, a group that had formed in New York City in the 1960s, and had been one of the most successful folk
The Concert for New York City was nominated for an EMMY for best music/comedy special (Greg Sills, Fred Graver and Paul Flattery) and for best production design (by SNL vet Keith Raywood). A one-hour highlight show was broadcast on CBS the following month. An album and DVD of the event was released in January 2002. An encore of the entire concert ran on September 11, 2011 to commemorate the 10th anniversary, commercial free and unedited, from 4 to 10pm. A double CD of the event was released by Sony on November 27, 2001, containing 32 tracks. The concert was released by Sony both on DVD and