Parks Department vs Street Artists: The Real Story

On April 23rd the Department of Parks held a public hearing on a proposal for new rules that would drastically restrict artists who display or sell paintings, prints, photos or sculptures in NYC Parks. Under the guise of public safety, these rules would eliminate close to 90% of all the artists now working in parks, specifically Union Square Park, Battery Park, Central Park and the High Line. Five hundred artists protested and testified at the hearing. The only testimony in favor of the proposed rules was from BIDs and park conservancies. Background The Parks Department tried a similar effort in 1998 by creating an artist-permit and lottery. Seven Federal and State courts eventually ruled it unconstitutional. In 2003 The Mayor proposed Intro # 160, an exactly similar law restricting artists by means of a lottery and permit. The City Council refused to pass it. In 2004 Intro 160 was reintroduced as Intro 48. It also was rejected by the City Council. In order to do an end run around the City Council, the Parks Commissioner has now proposed a rule, rather than a law, so that he alone can approve it. Whats Wrong with This Picture? The Mayor and the Parks Commissioner claim the reason for these restrictions is that artists are commercializing and congesting parks, blocking entrances and ruining the publics peaceful enjoyment of these urban refuges. They further claim that under the existing laws, artists are completely unregulated. In reality, street artists are subject to the entire NYC vending code, which totals 60 pages of restrictions enforceable by the NYPD or the PEP. The Parks Department also has numerous rules in place that prevent artists from blocking entrances, using benches or damaging or using any trees, plants or park furniture to display art. There is also a specific size limit to art displays (8 feet X 3 feet). The Parks rules also restricts the sale of any materials that are not protected by the First Amendment and has a specific list of items that cannot be sold which includes crafts, clothing, gift items, and all items of general merchandise. Violating any of these existing rules or laws can result in a summons, confiscation or arrest. Who Is Really Congesting Parks?

Hot Dog concession, Central Park; USP Holiday Market

Four Days a Week Union Square Farmers Market with 100 vendors and their trucks inside park

Yearly Month-long Union Square Park Holiday Vending Market with 200 Merchandise Vendors During the public hearing neither the Parks Department nor any of the BIDs or Park Conservancies that testified in favor of the proposed rules showed any photographic or statistical evidence that it is artists who are congesting NYC Parks - while artists submitted hundreds of documents and photographs showing the real cause of park congestion: the hundreds of vending concessions and corporate promotions that the Parks Department has installed in these same parks for fees that last year amounted to more than $110 million dollars. In Union Square Park alone, the Union Square Partnership BID has a huge Greenmarket and an even larger

Holiday Gift Vending Market with 200 vendors that takes up hundreds of times as much space as artists do. On May 18th the Parks Department began accepting bids for a restaurant and an additional food Kiosk in Union Square Park. Added to that are almost daily corporate promotions in Union Square Park for companies like Snapple, Huggies Diapers, Marshalls, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Sony Records and many others.

Marshalls Promotion in Union Sq Park with Artist Displays in the Foreground The bottom line of the Parks rules proposal is not public safety but the Parks Departments hunger for more concession and special event revenue. They want to eliminate as much First Amendment protected expression as possible while turning every park activity into a revenue generating one. Aside From Artists, Who Will These Rules Affect? The Federal Courts granted NYC street artists full First Amendment protection, no different than a newspaper vendor, a book vendor or someone handing out a political leaflet. If these new restrictions go into effect, anyone handing out a leaflet, performing music, proselytizing religious views, making a speech or getting a petition signed will be subject to the same severe restrictions. In 1939, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Hague v. C.I.O., 307 U.S. 496 (1939). The Court held that citizens have a "guaranteed access" to streets, parks, and other "traditional public forum" areas for free speech activities. The Court also held that the privilege to use the streets and parks for communication of views may be regulated in the best interests of all, but it must not, under the guise of regulation, be abridged or denied. Mere inconvenience to the government will not outweigh free speech interests. The government must use the least restrictive means of achieving legitimate, content neutral objectives. Justice Robert said in the Court's majority opinion, Wherever the title of streets and parks may rest, they have immemorially been held in trust for the use of the public and, time out of mind, have been used for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions. Such use if the streets and public places has, from ancient times, been a part of the privileges, immunities, rights, and liberties of citizens. On behalf of the citys artists and the general public, we ask all park advocates to oppose these restrictions on our most fundamental rights of speech and freedom of expression. Written testimony submitted at the Parks Department hearing on 4/23/2010. Has numerous photos as evidence of the real Parks Department agenda of privatization and concessions replacing artists http://www.scribd.com/doc/30543641/Lederman-Testimony-Submitted-to-Parks * Video of ARTIST protest by Sasha Sazanov http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHZz0UPgfXw * How NYC Street Artists Won Our Rights http://www.scribd.com/doc/30543412/How-NYC-Street-Artists-Won-Our-Rights * Times Square BID Solicits for Vending Concessions in Pedestrian Mall

http://www.scribd.com/doc/30775181/Times-Sq-BID-Concession-RFP * Parks Department Solicits for 200 stand Vending Concession in Union Square Park http://www.scribd.com/doc/30773226/Union-Square-Holiday-Market-Solicitation *Request for BIDs for new Union Sq Park Caf http://www.scribd.com/doc/31557560/Union-Square-Cafe-and-Kiosk-RFP-28FINAL-29 * NYU Law School rejects Park rules proposal http://www.scribd.com/doc/30701886/CityLaw-Rejects-Park-Rules-Proposal Union Square Community Coalition rejects Park rules proposal http://www.scribd.com/doc/30665784/USCC-Artist-Letter-4-22-10-USCC NYCLU Rejects Park rules proposal http://www.scribd.com/doc/30867894/NYCLU-Rejects-Park-Rules-Proposal * Daily News-Artists fight public hearing on vendor restrictions in parks with freedom of expression http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/04/24/2010-04-24_artists_rip_restrictions_in_parks.html * NY Times 4/24/2010 (go to site for photos) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/nyregion/24parks.html?ref=nyregion * NBC News: Seeing Red: Artists Protest Changing Park Vendor Rules http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Artists-Protest--91921924.html *** NY1News coverage of 4/23 ARTIST protest http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd2dsw_3-24-2010-park-protest_creation (Important: Watch video and listen to Mayor Bloomberg pretend that this issue is about hot dog vendors, not artists. They must be desperate to do that much spinning!) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-smith/mayor-bloomberg-vs-artist_b_556584.html Mayor Bloomberg vs Artists: The Battle for the Soul of New York City by Brendan Smith http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/artists-and-vendors-bristle-at-proposed-limits/ NY Times City Room April 5, 2010 Artists and Vendors Bristle at Proposed Limits in Parks NY Times City Room April 9, 2010 In Fight for Art Vendors, a Look to the Past Proof that the Parks Department ran a 160 stand art concession on Central Park South where they now claim only 5 artists can sell due to public safety issues. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/in-fight-for-art-vendors-a-look-to-the-past/#more-157209 DOT admits Greenmarket is actual the cause of congestion in USP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-yniD3LGBI Contact info: Robert Lederman, president of ARTIST 201 896-1686 artistpres@gmail.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nycstreetartists/ ARTIST group video history http://www.youtube.com/user/artistpres Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe 212 360-1305 Adrian.Benepe@parks.nyc.gov Alessandro Olivieri, Parks legal counsel Alessandro Olivieri@parks.nyc.gov 212 360-1313 Geoffrey Croft NYC Park Advocates (212) 987-0565 Proposed new park rules http://www.scribd.com/doc/31613027/Proposed-vending-rules-for-artists-doc-Legal-2596209-2-copy

PLEASE HELP US SAVE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN NYC PARKS