Complaints under review after Sail4th 250 canceled some NYC tickets with no refunds, citing weather damage
New York City officials are looking into complaints from people who said they purchased tickets to a prime viewing location for July 4th's Sail4th 250 celebration only to be told their event was canceled, and that their tickets would not be refunded.
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, or DCWP, says it has received eight complaints related to Premier Access tickets to watch the once-in-a-lifetime parade of tall ships from Governors Island.
After a severe overnight storm prior to the event, however, the Premier Access viewing area was canceled, organizers said, even though much of the Sail4th 250 celebration went on elsewhere.
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Sail4th 250 emailed holders of the Premier Access tickets before 6 a.m. on July 4, saying that specific viewing area had sustained significant storm damage. Other Sail4th 250 experiences, including ones called the Quarter Deck and Captains Club, however, went on as planned.
Organizers said they were "working to confirm refund details." Eleven days later, however, they told those families there would be no refunds.
The nonprofit cited its terms and conditions, saying tickets were "final and non-refundable," including for weather-related cancellations. It also told customers, "While it was impossible to welcome you to Governors Island ... everything else your support made possible came to fruition."
Sail4th 250's communications director declined CBS News New York's request for an interview. However, he told CBS News New York the storm left the Premier Access viewing area unsafe and prevented organizers from providing portable restrooms, cooling stations and hydration stations. He also provided photos that he said show the overnight storm damage.
Don Mills spent about $670 for three Premier Access tickets and traveled from Alabama to New York.
"We were living in Brooklyn Heights in 1976, and were there for the bicentennial," Mills said. "We wanted to relive that experience with our daughter."
Sara Louise Petty paid about $453.07 to take her son to Governors Island. She said she grew up watching Britain's Red Arrows and was willing to pay the premium for the ticket price.
"I feel the right thing would have been to issue a refund," Petty said. "I do donate to charity, but this wasn't a charitable contribution."
Melissa Iachan of the DCWP said the website disclosed a no-refund policy. However, it also advertised the event as "rain or shine."
"The fact that they disclosed rain or shine as a material condition, that in and of itself is deceptive because it wasn't rain or shine," Iachan said.
DCWP says the key question is whether customers were given clear notice of any material limitations before they bought their tickets.
"This isn't how you do business, particularly not in New York City when DCWP is watching," Iachan said.
The agency says it will contact Sail4th 250 and try to mediate with the goal of getting customers refunded.
CBS News New York reached out to Sail4th 250 about DCWP's position and will update this story when it receives a response.
Sail4th 250 also did not answer our question about how many people were impacted.
