Recent flooding from heavy rains and foot traffic from the Global Citizen Festival, an annual music event that draws thousands of people to Central Park’s Great Lawn, have forced the lawn to close for extensive repairs ahead of its usual fall maintenance closure, according to the organization that maintains the park.

On Tuesday, the Central Park Conservancy said heavy equipment and large crowds at the Sept. 23 festival damaged much of the Great Lawn and destroyed about a third of the grounds.

The conservancy said it hopes to have the lawn restored by next spring — the time of year it usually reopens after an annual closure starting in November — but that the area will remain publicly inaccessible until at least April.

The Global Citizen Festival raises money to alleviate extreme poverty worldwide and has been held at Central Park since 2012. Acts at this year's event included rapper and songwriter Lauryn Hill, Jungkook of South Korean boy band BTS, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

City Councilmember Gale Brewer, whose district includes Central Park and the Upper West Side, said the closure is unfair to her constituents who regularly use the park, and added that the festival should be relocated to a stadium or other venue to mitigate similar damage in the future.

"One-day concerts should not prevent the usage of the Great Lawn,” Brewer told Gothamist in an interview. “I feel strongly that that's not a fair alternative.”

Festival organizers said they consulted closely with city and park officials about heavy rainfall totals before the event and received the greenlight to hold it as planned.

“Ultimately, the city of New York, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Central Park Conservancy determined that this year's festival should go ahead," the organizers said in a statement. They added that Global Citizen “remains committed” as usual to assessing and covering the costs of any damage from the festival, in collaboration with the conservancy.

In its own statement, the parks department said it has a positive relationship with the organizers and is confident any damages will be fixed.