Parks Department Abruptly Reverses Its Policy on Performers by Robert Lederman 5/11/2012 The Parks Department has just

made a public statement that completely reverses their legal policy concerning performers and expressive matter vendors in NYC Parks. The statement was confirmed this morning and has been described by the Parks Press Office as being an official policy change by the Parks Legal Counsel. The 2010 revised park rules explicitly state that ALL artists, performers and buskers, specifically including anyone asking for a donation, are subject to ALL of the rules regarding expressive matter vendors. Those rules include artists (visual artists and all performers) being required to be at least 50 from a monument, 5 from a bench and on a park path that is a minimum of 15 in width. In Union Sq. Park, Battery Park, Central Park and on the High Line, all expressive matter vendors and performers must additionally be on one of a very limited number of medallions. The Parks Dept is now violating their entire rule revision by reversing the legal position they stated throughout the Federal lawsuit (that the rules were equally enforced against musicians and performers as well as visual artists). Yesterday, Parks spokesperson Phil Abramson made the following statement in an interview [See Washington Square Blog article below]: Parks Department spokesperson Phil Abramson confirmed, Busking and entertainers are not subject to the expressive matter vending rule. He added, They must still abide by other park rules though such as they cannot block benches or paths, play with amplified sound, etc. This sudden change completely undermines the Citys legal arguments now before the Federal Court that the rules are being enforced equally against everyone covered by the First Amendment. The policy change creates a significant 14th Amendment equal protection violation. Since performers generally cause much larger crowds to form than do visual artists, the Parks Departments justification behind creating the new restrictions (that visual artists were causing congestion) makes no sense, other than to prove that the City is unfairly targeting visual artists, which is a basic claim in the lawsuit. Here is the very first sentence of the 2010 revised Parks Department rules for expressive matter vendors. It explicitly includes anyone asking for a donation: " 2. Section 1-05(b) of Title 56 of the Official Compilation of the Rules of the City of New York is amended to read as follows: 1-05 (b) Unlawful Vending. (1) No person in or on any property under the jurisdiction of the Department [park, or street adjacent to or abutting a park (including all public sidewalks of such abutting streets)] shall sell, offer for sale, hire, lease or let anything whatsoever, or provide or offer to provide services or items in exchange for a donation (hereinafter vend), except under and within the terms of a permit, or except as

otherwise provided by law. For the purposes of this entire section, persons who vend as defined herein may be referred to as vendor or vendors. Here are a few quotes from the City defendants legal papers filed in the Federal lawsuit about the rules, Lederman et al v Parks Department: From the Citys Summary Judgment Motion pg 2: Vending in the City of New York Overview 3. Under the Parks Departments Rules, vending constitutes selling, offering for sale, hiring, leasing or letting anything, or providing or offering to provide services or items in exchange for a donation. 56 RCNY 1-05(b)(l); Linn Dec.. 4. 5. Under the Parks Departments Rules, expressive matter is materials or objects with expressive content, such as newspapers, books or writings, or visual art such as paintings, prints, photography, or sculpture. 56 RCNY 1-02; Linn Dec., 4. fn. 2. The Parks Department interprets the definition of expressive matter to include performances by street artists. Linn Dec., 4, fn. 2. Pg 10 Defendants memorandum of law: 10 The Expressive Matter Vending Rules also do not govern artists who simply display their work or perform without soliciting donations because the Parks Department has seldom, if ever, encountered people engaging in that sort of activity and, thus, these artists have not proven to have the same impact on parkland and park visitors as expressive matter vending from displays at fixed locations (these artists are, however, required to comply with all general use of Park rules). From the defendants Reply Memorandum pg 14: Fourth, as artists who sell merchandise for money and artists who perform in exchange for a donation have the same impact on parkland Dockett Reply Dec.,l2, the fact that both types of artists are subject to the designated spot requirement is evidence of the Parks Department's effort and intent to treat all expressive matter vendors equally. There is also no evidence that performance artists have foreclosed other artists from accessing the designated spots. Dockett Reply Dec., flI2; Exhibit T, Tr. 63:14-22. From defendants Opposition to PL 56.1 pg. 3: 9. In response to paragraph 81 of plaintiffs' statement, defendants do not dispute that only one expressive matter vendor may occupy a designated spot at one time or that performance artists who perform in exchange for donations are expressive matter vendors. From defendants Opposition to PL 56.1 pg 4: 12. In response to the assertions set forth in paragraph 85 of plaintiffs' statement, defendants dispute plaintiffs' assertion that performers or musicians who accept donations are not expressive matter vendors under the Rules. This dispute does not result in a genuine factual issue to be tried because it is a legal dispute, not a factual dispute.

Robert Lederman, President of ARTIST 201 896-1686 artistpres@gmail.com Parks Department Press Office 212 360-1311 Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe 212 360-1305 Parks Department Legal Counsel, Alessandro Olivieri 212 360-1313 Washington Sq Park Blog that broke the story: http://washingtonsquareparkblog.com/2012/05/10/parks-department-reversescourse-on-performance-crackdown-at-washington-square-park/ City Reverses Course on Performance Crackdown at Washington Square Park No More Ticketing and Fining of Entertainers and Buskers Performing Under the Arch Updated In a victory for the community and park goers, the New York City Parks Department has quietly reversed their policy of ticketing and fining of musicians within 50 feet of the fountain or monument (such as the Arch, Garibaldi) or 5 feet from benches in Washington Square Park. This new rule was first implemented in the fall of last year; once uncovered, it sparked tremendous outcry and negative press. These rules basically set off-limits large swaths of the park (pretty much all performance public space) and restricted musicians from performing as they traditionally always have at Washington Square Park. Through the diligent work of Community Board 2 which held a public hearing and issued a letter to the Parks Commissioner (proclaiming the rules as overly restrictive and unnecessary), New York City Park Advocates, which held a press conference and worked with lawyers Norman Siegel and Ron Kuby and the artists, media coverage, and the community speaking out, this rule is no longer in effect. Parks Department spokesperson Phil Abramson confirmed, Busking and entertainers are not subject to the expressive matter vending rule. He added, They must still abide by other park rules though such as they cannot block benches or paths, play with amplified sound, etc. So, although not technically admitting a reversal in policy, the Parks Department previously had been applying the expressive matter vending rule mentioned above set up primarily to regulate the locations of street artists in public parks to the musicians performing in WSP. That is no longer the case. At least the city agency was willing to switch course. In addition, all summonses previously issued were dismissed. Yay! Community Board 2 Chair Brad Hoylman commented, Community Board 2 held a successful speak-out in December to enlist public support against the practice of ticketing performers in the park. We followed up with a resolution to the Parks Department and have since been informed that theyve halted the practice. Im very pleased with this

result, but park lovers need to continue to monitor the situation and inform the community board if the summonses start again during the summer months. The impromptu performances by buskers, musicians and entertainers in which you never quite know what you will experience have always been considered part of the core experience of visiting Washington Square. And now they continue. ------------Complete text of the 2010 Park Rule revision as published in The City Record:

Link to text of revised Parks Department rules for artists as published in The City Record on June 18, 2010: http://www.scribd.com/doc/33230387/Parks-Dept-Rule-Change-for-artists-6-10-2010 Commissioner Benepe, interviewed on the day the revised rules were announced, blames Robert Lederman:
http://www.ny1.com/6-bronx-news-content/ny1_living/115958/vendors-critique-parks-officials--new-rulesfor-street-art

Recording made in City Hall of Mike Bloomberg and Robert Lederman in which the Mayor reveals his true position on street artists. The first part of the recording is Lederman negotiating with NYPD security about the use of the City Hall steps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK-H48IEuHE * Robert Ledermans 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. Provides an overview of entire history of the issue and this lawsuit http://www.scribd.com/doc/32399532/Lederman-Testimony-Submitted-to-Parks -------------Village Voice http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/05/art_war_did_the.php Art Parks Department Reverses Restrictions on Performers: Report (UPDATE) By Victoria Bekiempis Fri., May 11 2012 Categories: Art, Victoria Bekiempis In summer 2010, New York enacted rules limiting the location of artist vendors in city parks, a move which has since become the subject of a lawsuit. The city then applied this same "expressive matter vending" rule to entertainers. Officials used the mandate to crack down on park

performers, especially targeting those in Washington Square. The pols' basic claim was that change dropped in a musician's hat was the same thing as buying work from a photographer or painter. So, performers within 50 feet of a monument or fountain or 5 feet of a bench or tree -- pretty much the whole park -- could get ticketed just like visual artists. The Voice has just gotten word that the city seems to have reversed its decision to apply this rule to performers. But, it looks like these vending rules still apply to visual artists, who have long fought with the city for the right to display their wares. The news, first broken by the Washington Square Park blog, quotes a Parks Department spokesman as saying: "Busking and entertainers are not subject to the expressive matter vending rule...They must still abide by other park rules though such as they cannot block benches or paths, play with amplified sound, etc." Robert Lederman, who heads an artisan advocacy group and has been the main plaintiff on artists' vending lawsuits against the city, welcomes the decision. He thinks it could cause the city to lose the lawsuit. "I'm happy that rights have been reinstated. The City has destroyed all its legal arguments. The 14th Amendment says that similarly situationed people have to have the same rights," he told the Voice. UPDATE: The Parks Department confirmed the blog's original report, and had this to say to the Voice: "The expressive matter rules have not changed. Generally, expressive matter vending rules do not apply to buskers and entertainers. They must continue to abide by all park rules. For example, they cannot block benches or paths, or play with amplified sound. On background, guitar playing does not fall under expressive matter vending rules but the set up of a table / sale of goods (a CD) would." ------------------http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mll9PyMynA0&feature=youtu.be WPIX channel 11 Sat 5 12 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mll9PyMynA0&feature=youtu.be DNAinfo

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120511/greenwich-village/city-reverses-policybarring-performances-washington-square-park City Reverses Policy Barring Performances in Washington Square Park Updated 67 mins ago May 11, 2012 6:28pm | By Jill Colvin, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer click to see all pictures (8 photos) Street artist Joe Mangrum makes sand paintings in public areas including Washington Square Park. (JoeMangrum.com) NEW YORK Performers in Washington Square Park can sing a sigh of relief. The Parks Department has reversed course on its policy banishing performances from it and other parks, following an outpouring of community support, activists say. The policy, introduced last fall, had been used to bar musicians and other performers from performing within five feet of benches or 50 feet of fountains or monuments, such as the Washington Square Park arch drawing outrage from artists, advocates and members of Manhattans Community Board 2. But the city is has reversed course after numerous summons were dismissed. Generally, expressive matter vending rules do not apply to buskers and entertainers, said a Parks Department spokesman, confirming the re-interpretation, which was first reported by the Washington Square Park blog. Artists must still abide by other park rules, such as not blocking benches or pathways, or playing with amplified sound, the spokesman said. The news had artists like Colin Huggins, who is known as "the crazy piano guy, singing praise. Its definitely a great feeling," said Huggins, who plays a baby grand piano in parks around the city, including Washington Square, and said he'd been slapped with nine tickets that would have cost him upwards of $6,000 dollars in fines over the past six months. The tickets have since been dismissed. It was just really baffling for me to see them come and do this," he said of the crackdown. Community Board 2 chair Brad Hoylman, who lobbied for an end to the Parks Department policy at a Greenwich Village "speak-out" in December, also praised the policy change. "This is a excellent result for the community, park users and artistic expression," he said.

Hoylman added that he hoped the new interpretation would be enforced. "I would urge the community to continue to monitor the situation, however, and inform the community board should the Parks Department revert to their original practice," he said. Artist Joe Mangrum, who has been ticketed multiple times for making sand art in city's parks, also said he was pleased to hear that artists have regained some of their rights. "I'm happy that [the Parks Department is] rolling back these rules, but they should have never created them in the first place," he said. "Public space is public space and it's meant for free use" But Robert Lederman, a painter and printmaker, and president of the Artists Rights Group, which represents 2,000 artists, slammed the city for failing to extend its exemption to visual artists, who have also been slapped with thousands in fines in recent months. If you make a rule that visual artists have all these visual restrictions, but performance artists dont have to do them, youve completely violated the 14th Amendment, he said. Andrea Swalec contributed reporting.