Picture New York |
Basically, this [proposed NY City film permit ordinance] opens the door to unlimited police interactions with photographers and filmmakers, because under these proposed rules, if they were passed, basically everyone with a camera, including everyone with a cell phone, would be someone who might have to have a permit to do photography... with all the people out there with cameras, most people are going to be left alone. This is going to give the police license to stop people they want to stop for whatever reason they want. And you can imagine who the likely targets are of that sort of enforcement... People with dark skin, people who look suspicious in the eyes of the police... It's going to be the people who tend to be harassed by the police in other contexts. -- Christopher Dunn
Picture New York - August 2007
“We are offended at the notion that a city agency or police officer would have the power to keep a photographer from taking a picture or video on a public street. City property belongs to the citizens and the city has no right to limit safe, constitutionally protected behavior in a public venue.”
-- Tony Overman, president of the National Press Photographers Association |
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Inspired by PICTURE New York.org in the Summer of 2007
NY City proposed new rules that could have forced tourists taking snapshots in Times Square and filmmakers capturing that only-in-New-York street scene to obtain permits and $1 million in liability insurance.
