NYC WANTS TO RESTRICT PHOTO/FILM!

From the article… “The film office held a public hearing on the proposed rules yesterday, but no one attended. The only written comments the department received were from the civil liberties group, Ms. Cho said.”

I guess this is month old news now. Are there any updates? Did ASMP, or NPPA or anybody for that matter go make some noise.

This slope is getting really slippery.

this was just e-mailed to me so want to post here.

Dear Jim

All of a sudden we, as photographers, students and teachers, are facing Serious restrictions by The Mayor’s office about NYC street photography. I know you know Everyone. Would you alert them and have them sign or petition. We don’t have much time with an august 3rd deadline.

Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just click on this:
http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php

you can explore the rest of that site

and the original call to arms – links to NY Times article on this, billy’s rally 6:30 union square friday and other info follow.

thanks again, amy

Friends,

Please join us this Thursday, July 19th for a brainstorm and planning session to coordinate a creative response to proposed regulations by the Mayor’s Office of Theater, Film, 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.” See links for more information below.

This Thursday members of the film/photography/activist/etc communities will come together to brainstorm ideas for creative actions to take place before the close of the public comment period on August 3rd. Beers, beverages, snacks encouraged.

On Sunday, arts organization Not An Alternative will host a day of props production to produce visuals for a demonstration against the regulations.

Hope to see you there.

Jem Cohen, Astra Taylor, Laura Hanna, Beka Economopoulos, Brandon Jourdan, and Julie Talen

SAVE THE DATE:

Friday, July 27th, 6:30 pm

Rally for the 1st Amendment – Union Square

People are invited to turn out to make a statement about New York City’s laws and regulations regarding filming, shouting, biking, parading, and dancing.

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Original NYTimes article: http://tinyurl.com/2scoog <http://tinyurl.com/2scoog>

PDF of the proposed changes: http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/downloads/pdf/moftb_permit_regs.pdf <http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/downloads/pdf/moftb_permit_regs.pdf>

NYCLU Response: http://www.nyclu.org/nyc_photo_permits_pr_062807.html <http://www.nyclu.org/nyc_photo_permits_pr_062807.html>

Excerpted from an email by artist and filmmaker Jem Cohen:

The Mayor’s Office of Film deals primarily with big film shoots (ie. commercials, features, t.v.) where permits and insurance are, understandably, a given. However, many photographers and filmmakers carry on an equally vital tradition in which spontaneous documentation of the urban environment is at the very heart of our work. Being a street photographer often means standing in a random location and waiting: for the right activity, the right light, the break in the traffic; the countless other unpredictable factors that need to fall into place to make a shot worthwhile…

Permits would have to be obtained for specific dates and times and exact locations, and the insurance would be out of reach for many individuals. The fact is that we simply CANNOT predict where, when, and how long we are going to film or photograph; we CANNOT afford expensive liability insurance policies; we occasionally NEED to work with other people or to use tripods to support our gear. (The regulations would, for example, effectively rule out a great deal of time-lapse photography which depends on tripods and cannot possibly be done with time limitations of 10 to 30 minutes, as well as the use of large format still cameras and long lenses).

Especially in the current climate, official clarification of photographer’s rights could be a positive thing. (Many of us have been shut down by police or other authorities who do not seem to understand that we DO have rights to film and photograph in public places). That said, if these regulations go through, it would invite if not require police to harass or shut down both professional artists and amateurs.

Unfortunately, I believe that we must see the proposed regulations not only as a blow against New York as a city that welcomes and inspires art-making (and historical documentation), but as part of a continuum of broader attacks against civil liberties and free expression.

Please contact the following person immediately and express your concerns.

Julianne Cho

Associate Commissioner

Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting

1697 Broadway

New York, NY 10019

jcho@film.nyc.gov

ph: 212.489.6710

fax: 212.307.6237

thanks Jake…..signed, and, again, dismayed….Jem’s right, this isnt so much about art (that too) but more fundamental expressions: the essential (in a democracy) need and insurance for a society and her citizens to document and record and never relinquish their (not priviledge) but DUTY to record (in word, story, speech, image, song, etc) the waylaying of the day and the society that surrounds them….i sign not as a photographer (that too) but as a person who fundamentally believes that without the ability to speak (and photography/film is a language of story telling, witnessing, reporting), then the society withers and dies…..

immeasurably depressing, but societies survive their nations and governing bodies….

liberty: the responsibility to ensure liberty

bob

we all need to sign this..

now thats really interesting, but it seems to me that only those that live in NY can sign this

in my long post this may have been burried so want to make sure people kow about it:

SAVE THE DATE:

Friday, July 27th, 6:30 pm

Rally for the 1st Amendment – Union Square

I read over the proposed regulations and compared them to the current ones, and I think some clarity on this might be helpful in pushing back to the mayors office. Currently all use of tripods, lights, or any gear that isn’t hand held on public property requires a permit. This is a public safety issue and has to be addressed. NYC is a crowded city and the use of ladders, tripods, lightstands and so on in public requires regulation. That part seems quite clear. I have never had a problem getting a permit for using those pieces of equipment. It requires a fax and is usually turned around in a few hours.

However, the application of the restriction of the gathering of people to photograph, even if the gear is hand held, is where the potential here for abuse by the authorities comes in. Given the frequency of arrests of photographers at protests already, I can only imagine that the number will go up if this regulation goes through. The policy has at times seemed to be to arrest first and ask questions later. That will only increase if the application of these regulations are up to the local duty police officers who are confronting the photographers. The language in the proposed regulations only serves to increase the suspicion that taking pictures is a suspect act, especially in volatile situations. In my opinion, that is the part of the regulation that must be fought most fiercely. And, language must be added that specifically protects the rights of individual photographers/filmmakers. How that language should be formed is beyond my expertise, but surely the ASMP and NPPA should be involved.

It seems to me this will happen, zillion signatures or not. The society is going nuts and, as shown throughout the history, that is an unstoppable process. Only when we reach the bottom we wake up. When all the liberties disappear than things will start to change in the opposite direction (towards good, hah).
Here is the future in NYC, and elsewhere. A photographer will be accompanied with a police officer who will command ‘Point your camera there, no, no, there, hash, wide aperture please, you can only show a very shallow depth of field. Ok, done, give me your camera, we’ll inform you about the possibility of using your pictures. And, please do not leave the house before we contact you…’.
But this leads to good things. This is where underground kicks in. There will be a great and brave photographers working underground. The exciting times are coming for photography…

Please Sign this Petition…

Taxation without representation…

This was sent to me by a friend. Thought I would pass this on. (2500 Plus signatures)

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

It reads:

“To: Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting
Cc: City Council Committee on Culture, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations

We, the undersigned, believe that the new rules currently under consideration for Film Permits (Chapter 9, Title 43 of the City Rules of New York) will have an irrevocable impact on independent filmmakers and photographers and their ability to engage in creative work in New York.

The proposed regulations would not only jeopardize the activities of artists, but of hobbyists and tourists, as well as commercial practitioners. Furthermore, we believe these new restrictions will have far reaching impact on the tourism industry and cultural economy of New York. With limitations placed on the kind of work that can be made, the commercial galleries, museums, and theaters that present the work, as well the film processing labs and rental companies that service the production of such work would lose considerable business.

The right to photograph in public space is established by the First Amendment, which states that, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” These rights are not the City’s possession to take away, or to restrict to the point where such free expression is rendered impossible. The impact on public space of the types of activities you propose to regulate are so minimal that requiring permits is an undue burden towards exercising First Amendment rights. Furthermore, one cannot regulate an art form or activity by negating its very premise. The proposed rules, in refusing to recognize the spontaneity that is at the core of street-based filmmaking and photography, are untenable for that reason alone.

Because there was virtually no public notice about the proposals, many advocacy groups, photographers, and filmmakers did not know about the rules or the opportunity to file objections. We therefore call upon the city to dismiss these regulations altogether, and hold a new public hearing so that the communities that will be most impacted have an opportunitiy to meaningfully input into the shaping of new and constructive policies.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned”

3130 signatures and growing.

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

it’s up to 5606, keep them coming

depressing… please, sign the petition!!!

I signed using my NYC address. Marina, relax, this law is not really aimed a street photographers.

andy, in the end it is aimed at us. first it’s no tripods, then no lights, now they’re proposing that if you’re 2 people and one has a camera you have to apply for a permit (anyone work with writers here????) and what about people who carry around more than one body, perhaps that’s next? quite simply there should be no regulation at all. period. it’s ridiculous that one will have to goto goddamed 1 police plaza to ask for permission to use a tripod or work with colleagues. i can understand permits for film crews because they take over entire blocks in order to do what they do, but a couple of people with a camera and tripod?

.......also, this from the times:

Officials have said that the rules are not intended to apply to tourists or amateur filmmakers or photographers. “For the first time in its 40-year history, the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting is writing rules that will codify our current procedures with respect to film permitting,” Julianne Cho, associate commissioner in the film office, wrote in an e-mail message. “As is standard with the City’s rulemaking process, we welcome public feedback as we work to produce rules that continue to assist our customer base and grow the City’s film industry.”

so, amateur and tourist speech is sanctioned but if one aims to do anything beyond that one must seek approval from the mayor’s office? time to break out those hawaiian shirts and start waddling around like a lost tourist in times square.

full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/28/nyregion/28film.html?ref=nyregion

Hmmm…. and they’re fighting for democracy in Iraq?

Damn, those snarky bastards! First they ban trans fats, and now they want to take away my right to use my glass. Glad, I’m not u op there.Going to NYC for me is like when Homer Simpson went there, cops stealing luggage, pimps chasing me around…

Jake, of course I agree with you and its best to be cautious, and I have signed the petition…

It’s our version of the Patriot Act, “we’re doing this to protect you”. I can see it now, uninformed beat cop giving you shit and throwing these new laws that he doesnt even know the details of in your face. “What are you, some shitbag lawyer?, I’ll give you a summons if you dont delete your photos and get outta here!”. Did someone re-ellect Giuliani while I was outta town?.

Even before this pending legislation I was asked by a police officer why I was walking around with a camera. She asked if I was “snapping pictures around here.” I said, “No.” She said, “OK.” And I walked on. This was about two years ago in Manhattan on 10th Avenue and 15th Street.

The only places I have been challenged with the camera.
China by a soldier who thought it suspect that I was photographing a standard bicycle and New York City less than 2 months ago by a bored cop who thought it suspicious that I should stand on a wall for a better angle.
This will just give succour to the petty and the pushy whether they are high officials or just a man with badge.

Did someone re-ellect Giuliani while I was outta town?.

No, he’s too busy running for president these days to bother with NYC.

From The New York Times -

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/after-uproar-revised-rules-coming-on-filmmaking-and-photography/

I understand in response to protests, the MOFTB is going to redraft the guidelines and then go through another 30 day review period:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news/090107_moftb_rules_redraft.shtml

My country is descending further and further into madness.

The death of freedom before one’s eyes..

Yes, Sion…..the problem won’t be taking pictures, its getting them published thats the difficulty now, isn’t it. And with every day we see more and more consolidation of the media in the hands of a few.

A good reason to support the ACLU. The NY chapter was very effective in its help in this situation.

Good point Barry, and the response in New York was great, thanks to everyone who worked so hard on that. Also, if there is still some way to input, the issue of use of a tripod on park lands, ie Central Park and Coney Island for example, needs to be addressed.

Andy, have you ever seen Manufacturing Consent?

It was cut in the early 90s,

and touches base on how the mainstream media

was controlled by like 23 companies or something.

This of course was before the telecom act of 1996
and conglomerate mergers of the late nineties.

Now the mainstream media is controlled by how many outlets?

Gannett

TimeWarner

Viacom

News Corp

How many more?

Correct me if I’m wrong,

but doesn’t the current Mayor of NYC own a major publication?

I wonder what his stance is on all of this?

Patrick, I couldn’t agree more. Its very unhealthy for the country and it no one in government seems to want to question it. I was told by a lawyer at the Justice Department in the late 90’s that as long as Bush was president there would be no support for anti-trust action. Not that Clinton was much better.