Whitney Houston Public Memorial Service Isn’t Happening, Newark Mayor Cancels Gathering

A Whitney Houston public memorial service is not going to happen after the Houston family requested that a memorial set inside the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ be cancelled.

News of the cancellation was revealed by City Mayor Cory Booker who announced that the 18,000-seat arena would not be used to host a public gathering in celebration of Houston’s lifetime achievements.

Speaking about the cancellation a representative from the Mayor’s office told TMZ:

“The Houston family has no plans to set up a public viewing at the Prudential Center this Friday.” They added, “In compliance with the family’s wishes the city is not moving forward with any public ceremony.”

The mayor’s office made it’s announcement just hours after plans began circulating around the web about the massive gathering.

The move to fend off a public ceremony was a smart one on the cities behalf, the Michael Jackson memorial in Los Angeles ended up costing the city upwards of $3 million for added security and other personnel requirements.

A private funeral for family and friends of Whitney Houston is scheduled for this Saturday at New Hope Baptist Church.

It’s likely that many fans of Whitney Houston will line the streets during her funeral, they will not however have a chance to see her body before she is laid to rest.

In the meantime if you want to stay in the room where Whitney Houston died it’s booking fast.

Do you think pulling out of a public ceremony for the singer was the right decision on behalf of the city of Newark or should they have given fans a last chance to say goodbye to the iconic singer?