Once again, we’ve reach the completion of another New York Comic Con.

As always, things changed, things improved, things went awry, and as always, Lance Fensterman and staff met to listen to show attendees express their compliments, criticisms, and concerns.

Left to Right: James McNerney, Fallon Prinzivalli Kristina Rogers, Mike Armstrong, Lance Fensterman ,

So, what were people talking about? Here are the main points:

The show is very inclusive, fans feel safe, the non-harassment policy works very well, and overall, it’s a great show. Almost every speaker thanked ReedPOP for holding a great event.

That said…

Off-site events:

  • The Hammerstein Ballroom has a strict policy against Sharpies and other items, which angered some attendees. There needs to be better communication with off-site venues.
  • Why weren’t off-site panels cleared? Most venues do not have space for a queue, so safety is a concern.
  • Can MSG offer a better food menu within the venue, as some either prefer to eat healthy, or have diet requirements.
  • Shuttles from Javits to the off-site venues were suggested. Mike Armstrong replied that they were underused last year, but with better publicity, they might be better utilized.

Panels:

  • How are panels chosen? There was duplication of topics.  Panels are selected to cover the wide spectrum of fan interests, and some are recycled from previous years if the panel is popular.
  • Can panels in the meeting rooms have a raised dais so that attendees seated further back can see the speakers?  Yes!

Show App:

  • The show app was awesome! Except it didn’t handshake with the desktop website planner. Another suggestion: allow the app to download to Google Calendar, to allow for central processing.
  • For the first time, NYCC partnered with Lego and Funco to hold ticket lotteries. Some winners won tickets from both days, a glitch, and the later ticket was cancelled and rewarded to another attendee. NYCC will work to make it better next year.

Bathrooms!

  • Lines were way too long. [Even for guys.] ReedPOP did flip some men’s rooms to women. More gender-neutral rooms seemed to be the best and easiest solution.

Artist Alley

  • The Artist Alley air conditioning was horrible. RP replied that Javits would try to cool the space, but that it suffered from mechanical breakdowns.
  • The area in front of Artist Alley (1-E) needed to be less cluttered.

Other Stuff

  • The scalpers were annoying, accosting attendees on the way to the Javits Center.  State law prohibits any reselling within 1500 feet of the Center. ReedPOP actively seeks and destroys badges being resold online.
  • Why were multi-day passes not available this year? The smaller size of the show (due to Center expansion) meant that single days were emphasized, to allow for the greatest number of attendees.
  • The professional day at the New York Public Library received kudos, and Katie Roark received a shout-out. Can there be professional hours on the show floor? Perhaps.
  • A first-time attendee suggested a beginner’s guide. The Ultimate Fan Guide was mentioned.
  • A listing of food trucks and dining options both inside the Center and elsewhere was suggested, and RP teased an “Ultimate Food Guide” for next year.
  • The food trucks were seen as price-gouging attendees. RP will discuss this with the vendors.
  • The Medical Assistance Program was again mentioned, that better security and crowd control is needed around the Main Stage. Also, elevators are blocked or crowded by attendees. Disability bathrooms are also abused by others. Attendees are reminded not to sit on the stairs, or the bare concrete on the show floor.
  • Wet badges affected the RFID reception of the badges, although the problem was fixed by staff. However, it was suggested that there be additional help desks at the off-site venues, so that attendees would not have to hike to Javits to resolve the problem.
  • Another attendee suggested that any celebrity charging more than $100 for a photo-op be given a panel as well. [Mark Hamill had a pre-show price of $250.]
  • There was confusion over the location of the VIP autographing area, which was on the fourth floor near the Press Room.
  • Why weren’t the Live Stage events listed in the program? The schedule is arranged at the last minute, and updated in the app. Better notification via social media will be implemented.

And the craziest suggestion:

A film crew should follow Lance and crew around the show! (The staff then mentioned the very mundane activities from that day, such as sweeping standing water away from pedestrian crossings.)


 

4 COMMENTS

  1. Actually Mark Hamill’s posted price was $286. Another “Other Stuff” suggestion (which was met with wild applause) was to replace the extremely-difficult-to-remove but easy-to-rip-into-shreads adhesive badge labels. In addition to wasting minutes to cleanly remove, the removal process (especially using Goo-Gone) risked damaging the badges so the might not work.

  2. The show app was significantly better than previous years–I wouldn’t call it awesome. Could you jump from making a favorite to their location on the map? That would make it awesome.

  3. Why did no one report on what happened to Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko at NYCC? Or ask anyone in management at NYCC about what happened or why they did literally nothing in response? I would think theft of art and harassment of artists by the thief that bordered on the physical would get some notice. Are they not high profile enough? Is it because they’re not attached to a comic book movie? I kind of expect other sites to pull this crap but I thought the beat was slightly better. When the Beat and Spurgeon stop giving a fuck, then I guess that’s that.

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