[DAC] Fwd: [Artfound-list] Serious restrictions by The Mayor's office about NYC street photography

[Donna Penn]

Please help protect first amendment rights of artists in NYC!!


Begin forwarded message:

> From: News from the Artists Foundation <artfound- 
> list at artistsfoundation.org>
> Date: July 30, 2007 10:11:13 PM EDT
> To: artfound-list at artistsfoundation.org
> Subject: [Artfound-list] Serious restrictions by The Mayor's office  
> about NYC street photography
>
> News from the Artists Foundation
> _______________________________________________
> Information about this mailing list, including
> unsubscription information, may be accessed
> through the link at the end of this message.
> _______________________________________________
> FYI all.....
>
> this change may effect how many artists, photographers and  
> filmmakers make
> their work in NYC.
>
>
>  Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just click on this:
>
>  http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php
>
>
> See below for more info and where to send a letter if so inclined. The
>
> deadline is Aug 3.
>
>
> --------------------
>
>
> Please sign a petition to protect the freedom of photographers and
>
> filmmakers to work in NYC!
>
>
>  Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just click on this:
>
>  http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php
>
>
>  BACKGROUND
>
>
>  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.
>
>
>  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
>
>  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.
>
>
> 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 at film.nyc.gov
>
>
>  ph: 212.489.6710
>
>
>  fax: 212.307.6237
>
>
>
> <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> Get a sneak  
> peek of
> the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour</HTML>
> _______________________________________________
> Artists Foundation mailing list
> For more information, or unsubscribing, visit:
> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/artfound-list
> _______________________________________________

Donna Penn
See our fine art and notecard website at www.krausedesigninc.com
For info on the Dorchester Arts Collaborative & Dorchester Open  
Studios, see: www.thedac.org


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.thedac.org/pipermail/dacmail_thedac.org/attachments/20070730/e18dbfaa/attachment-0001.html