This episode is based on an event on April 9, 1961 that became known as "The Beatnik Riots". The parks commissioner refused a permit to the folksingers for their Sunday afternoon gatherings, claiming that "the folksingers have been bringing too many undesirable [beatnik] elements into the park." Folk singer Izzy Young organized around 500 folksingers to protest the ban and they sang songs in the park without having a permit. Young led a march in protest of the ban on the public performance of music. The New York City Police Department Riot Squad was sent into the park. They attacked the folksingers with billy clubs, and arrested 10 people. Young pursued the case through the courts, eventually winning the removal of the ban.