In early April New York’s mayor, Bloomberg, announced a new plan to relieve major congestion in the city’s parks by regulating the number of artists and vendors who set-up in them. The plan’s regulations, which will not more then halve the number of artists and vendors in the park, have many artists fighting for their first amendment rights and have a lot of people questioning how the city plans to regulate and define “artist”?
“The problem isn’t that the city wants to remove congestion in the parks,” said Esteban Kremen, 37, a painter and self acclaimed “street artist” who has been selling his wares in Union Square for two years. “It’s how they’re going to regulate vendors. There’s a lot of crap that is sold—DVDs’, stock prints. The city needs to draw the line, only those who are selling their own original pieces should be eligible for a spot,” Kremen said.
Under the plan the 300 artists that set-up in Union Square, The High Line, Central Park, Battery Park, around the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Columbus circle will be reduced to 81 collectively. The way it has been proposed the plan will allow vendors spots on a first-come-first-serve basis. Union Square will be allotted 18 spots, Battery Park nine, The High Line five and the Central Park area, 49.
Sharing Kremen’s same sentiment former New York City Park’s Department Commissioner Henry J. Stern told the New York time on April 23rd, “I don’t think that even John Lennon would want his picture sold at 100 different places in the park”.
The 73% decrease in available vendor spots has many, like Kremen, demanding that there be some regulation on behalf of the city in regards to what can be sold.
"The city needs to find a better way to balance these interests," City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), who is chairwoman of the committee that oversees the parks told The New York Times on April 23rd.
This is tricky though, a lot of the stuff many would assume would be the fist to go, like the numerous commercial prints of John Lennon and refrigerator magnets of Obama that you can find in all New York City parks are protected under The First amendment and already existing laws of New York City.
Under New York City law jewelry and apparel, such as hats, t-shirts and handbags, even if they are hand made require a vending license to be sold in New York parks. Robert Lederman, President of ARTIST, and the major organizer of the artists in their current battle with the city said as a guideline for artists on knol.google.com: “functional art that conveys a political message is exempt from the vending license. The legal standard of what is exempt revolves around a few key factors. Foremost is, does the article being sold communicate a message? The second key factor is ‘functionality’.”
Based on lawsuits that Lenderman and ARTIST won in 1994, under the city’s laws paintings, photos and sculptures, defined as “expressive matter,” and protected by The First Amendment, can all be sold in parks without a vendor’s license. DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, cassette tapes and books can also be sold without a vendor’s license.
If the City does pass the new regulations—vendors can expect a stronger enforcement of the vendor license requirement.
“ Almost a 100% of the people who opposed the artists on April 23rd were members of Parks or business advocacy groups,” Geoffrey Croft of New York City Park Advocates said. New York City Park Advocates is a non-profit, non-partisan watchdog group dedicated to increasing funding, programs and safety in New York City Parks. “The public seems overwhelmingly against the move,” Croft continued. “Our first concern is safety,” Croft said about New York City Park Advocates, he further explained he did not feel the city’s desire to limit the amount of artists in parks is not a safety issue, “the city would make more money if they had their own vendors and concessions,” he said.
As of the public hearing on Friday, April 23rd, New York City Parks Department has made no public comment on the approval or dismissal of the proposed regulations. Vickie Karp in the press department of parks said in regard to the status of a decision “Parks will now review the testimony from the public hearings and make any adjustments its feels necessary to the original proposal. The rules are about balanced and fair use of the park, not content. “
Geoffrey Croft expressed he thought that the issue would eventually make it’s way to court, in which case he said that New York City Parks Advocates would probably team up with Robert Linderman and ARTIST to advocate on behalf of artists and their secured position within New York City parks.
Clearly there is still a lot that has to be worked out surrounding these issues. Bloomber’s plan which has received its fair share of attention and opposition promises no easy decision.
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