Protest Friday and Petition on Proposed New York Photography Rules

[rj__]

I received the following e-mail yesterday from New York filmmaker Matt Kohn

that may be of interest. The proposed rules affect still photography as well as

motion picture photography:

 

"You can help prevent DIY filmmaking from being stopped by over-agressive

lawmaking...

 

 

http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php

 

Hello my fellow film-making and film-loving friends:

 

Please please please take a second to click here to sign a petition regarding

the rules recently proposed by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater, and

Broadcasting.

 

Introduced quietly just before Memorial Day weekend, the regulations could

severely impede the ability of even casual photographers and filmmakers to

operate in New York City. A group of two or more people who want to use a

camera in a single public location for more than a half hour (including setup

and breakdown time) could be required to get a city permit and $1 million in

liability insurance. According to the NY Civil Liberties Union, “these

regulations violate the First Amendment right to photograph in public places,

and open the door to selective and discriminatory enforcement.”

 

More information about the issue follows -- and details for the Free Speech

Rally this Friday. It'll be fun. Be there!

 

All the best,

 

Matt

Picture New York

 

* * *

 

 

Please join the Filmmaker/Photographer contingent at this Friday’s First

Amendment rally at Union Square. Recently proposed regulations seriously

threaten the rights of photographers and filmmakers to operate in NYC, and they

could go into effect as soon as this August. Other laws already restrict our

rights to parade, dance, meet, bike, shout, and assemble.

 

Join performance artists Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, the

Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Critical Mass bike riders, and Picture New York -- a

new coalition of concerned filmmakers and photographers, for a festive and un-

permitted celebration of the First Amendment.

 

Friday, July 27, 6:30pm

Union Square, north end

Press Conference and Creative Rally

 

Bring: marching bands, gospel choirs, props and signs, cameras, projections,

bikes, YOU and YOUR FRIENDS, and the 44 sweet words of the First Amendment of

the United States Constitution.

 

Upload: photos and videos of the rally or of your First Amendment feelings to

YouTube and Flickr and tag them “camerawars” and “pictureny”. Send links to

the Mayor's office at jcho@film.nyc.gov and to info@pictureny.org.

 

Why now? Recently proposed regulations by the Mayor’s Office of Film,

Broadcasting, and Theater could severely restrict the ability of even casual

photographers and filmmakers to operate in New York City. A group of two or

more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than

a half hour (including setup and breakdown time) could be required to get a The

public comment period has been extended to August 3rd, but the regulations

could soon go into effect thereafter.

 

Please take action before August 3rd:

 

1) Click here to email comments to the Mayor's Film Office and the City Council

committee that oversees them.

 

http://citizenspeak.org/node/1123

 

2) Upload videos and photos. Post your NY works or works about these rules on

YouTube, tag them “PictureNewYork” and “CameraWars”. Send links to

jcho@film.nyc.gov and to info@picturenewyork.org.

 

3) Click here to sign a petition.

 

http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php

 

4) Join the spectacle at Union Square on Friday at 6:30pm to add to the image

of New Yorkers celebrating their rights to free speech and assembly.

 

 

According to the NYCLU, “these regulations violate the First Amendment right to

photograph in public places, and open the door to selective and discriminatory

enforcement.” And they are a part of a broader continuum of attacks on our

rights, including laws and regulations regarding meeting, filming, shouting,

biking, parading, and dancing which, taken together comprise a serious threat

to our freedom as well as our ability to defend that freedom.

 

At Union Square almost one month ago, before a Critical Mass bike ride,

Reverend Billy was arrested for reciting the First Amendment. The charge?

Harassment of the NYPD. The story ran in press outlets around the world. This

headline-grabbing and onstitutionally questionable arrest, and the recently

proposed filming regulations, suggest that this is a perfect time to throw a

party, First amendment-style, for the press and the people of New York City..

 

 

See you then!

 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or

of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition

the government for a redress of grievances.”

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/07/03/2007-07-

03_lights_camera_inaction.html

http://www.nysun.com/article/57680"

[jtdnyc]

The issue of permits for street photography is a serious one, with implications for everyone who visits this forum.

 

It's a shame that a protest rally on this subject should be associated with the "Critical Mass" bicycle riders, who flout the traffic laws, ignore the rights of pedestrians and -- unlike street photographers -- actually do endanger the public. Posing as environmentalists who seek to promote bicycle use, they're really just a bunch of hooligans. They don't yield to pedestrians and they cause traffic accidents.

 

I live within a few blocks of Union Square, where the Critical Mass rides begin. Neighborhood residents can't stand these people, few of whom actually live nearby, because they show no consideration for pedestrians' rights and start fights with motorists who are obeying the traffic laws.

 

A protest rally on the serious issue of street photography will be lost in the confusion sowed by Critical Mass and will be seen by the public as just more warm-weather rowdiness by a bunch of guys -- Critical Mass is overwhelmingly male -- who are dateless on a Friday night.

 

Participating in this event will hurt the cause of street photographers' rights.

[rj__]

Jonathan,

 

The key issue is the petition. As someone who has been following the proposed rules, and who has an interest in the outcome, I agree that it would be good if mainstream photographers cared enough to hold their own rally. Failing that, maybe Critical Mass is better than nothing?

[dakotah_jackson]

When are these NYC types going to start assessing big charges to all writers who pen/type/word process anything that mentions New York City? They are more damaging to the city than the photos taken by most I have seen. Most of them probably have more money to spend anyhow.

[jtdnyc]

RJ, a petition makes sense, as does lobbying governmental authorities and writing letters to the newspapers. Being associated with Critical Mass, however, will make this serious cause seem as frivolous as their summer joyride.

[john falkenstine]

Why not just move your camera and tripod at 29 minutes and 30 Seconds?

[rj__]

This is something that I wrote a couple of weeks ago on a site that focuses on large format photography. It is an attempt to talk about the problem that the proposed regulations present for still photographers in an even-handed, accurate manner:

 

I'm familiar with the current rules administered by the NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, and am following debate on the proposed new rules, because they have a practical impact on a project on which I am working.

 

On a strict interpretation of the current rules, a still photographer must have a permit to shoot anywhere in the city. As a practical matter, people don't worry about this unless they want to use a tripod. More importantly, a still photographer, unlike a motion picture or television production house, is not obliged to carry $1 million in liability insurance.

 

However, there are exceptions because the Mayor's Office rules are supplemented by additional rules in many parts of the city that are under special jurisdiction, such as the subway system, parks, etc. For example, if one phones the Council on the Environment of New York City (http://www.cenyc.org/site/), which operates New York's 44 Greenmarkets (such as the one at Union Square), one will be told that one can use a still camera at a New York Greenmarket only if one has a permit, regardless of whether one is shooting handheld or with a tripod, plus $1 million in liability insurance. If you explain that you are working on a small project, in my case a book, you will be told that the Council is used to dealing with major networks such as ABC and the Food Network, which of course carry liability insurance, and that it is not prepared to make an exception.

 

This is of course theoretical for the tourist or street photographer who wants to take quick snapshots at one of the 44 Greenmarkets. However, it is a very real problem for a photographer who wants to work in a way that makes him visible and quite possibly involves the use of a tripod. It means that if you go ahead, without the permit and the liability insurance, you are acting illegally, and are subject to being told at any time, either by a Greenmarket staff member or the police, to stop. Although it is unlikely to go this far, you are also subject to arrest. The net result is that you try to keep a low profile and work hand-held.

 

Now to the new proposed rules...

 

First, these rules, if enacted, will require still photographers, with certain exceptions, to have both a permit and $1 million in liability insurance to photograph anywhere in the city.

 

Secondly, the rules will apply to both professional and amateur photographers. Indeed, the Mayor's Office, in a gloss posted yesterday, acknowledges as much. What the Office says is that circumstances in which a permit is required should "be RARE for recreational photographers". That depends a great deal on what the rules mean, which brings me to my final point.

 

My impression from reading the draft rules is that they are highly ambiguous. If they are not clarified, there is likely to be a great deal of confusion among enforcement officials about what they mean, and, consequently, confusion about when photographers are and are not in compliance. Equally importantly, there is likely to be a great deal of uncertainty among photographers about when they are and are not acting within the law.

 

Large format photographers who want to read the draft rules and try to figure out what they mean should be cognizant of the fact that the hand-held exception does not apply to a field or monorail camera, and should pay particular attention to the definitions of the words "equipment" and "interaction", the context in which the word 'tripod" is used and the odd, rather circular way in which the rules express what activities/circumstances do and do not require a permit and, hence, substantial liability insurance. ?