Artist Market In Union Square. The Bloomberg administration - and the various park conservancies and BIDs that run the four parks affected by the new vending rules - claim the parks have become too crowded necessitating the change. The lawsuit argues that greenmarket and holiday commercial vendors create more congestion in the parks than the artists. (see below) Beginning Monday in Union Square Park, 18 artists will be allowed to sell their work each day on a first come first serve basis. An additional 40 vendors will be allowed to sell in the park on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
The rules will also push the artists to the perimeter of the park to within six inches of the street, according to Robert Lederman, a plaintiff in the suit. "They're creating a dangerous situation where there wasn't one before."
(photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on Images to enlarge.
Manhattan
By Geoffrey Croft
On Friday afternoon, Federal District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan declined to issue a preliminary injunction to block the enforcement of the new Park rules designed to dramatically reduce the number of artists working in four parks in Manhattan. The City will begin enforcing the new rules on Monday July 19th.
The Bloomberg administration, the conservancies and the BID who collectively run the four parks, have said the parks have become too crowded. The lawsuit argued that the greenmarket and holiday commercial vendors create far more congestion in the parks than the artists.
Robert Lederman, president of Artists' Response to Illegal State Tactics (A.R.T.I.S.T,) one of the plaintiffs, pointed out that artists have previously been denied injunctions in all of the cases that they eventually won. He said his lawyers will immediately be appealing the decision.
Greenmarket Conjestion. The park conservancies and the BIDS that run the four parks argue that the parks have become too crowded, but the lawsuit contends that greenmarket and holiday commercial vendors create more congestion in the parks than the artists.
City lawyer Mark Muschenheim said he was pleased with the decision, saying the rules reflect a careful balance between the rights of, vendors and the public's right to enjoy the parks, according to The Associated Press.
The new rules place a cap on the number of "expressive matter vendors" selling in Union Square Park, the High Line, Battery Park and six areas around Central Park. Spaces will now be granted on a first-come-first-served basis. Artists maintain these restrictions are impeding their first amendment rights while also greatly impact their livelihood.
In Union Square Park, 18 artists will be allowed to sell their work each day. An additional 40 vendors will be allowed to sell in the park on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. In Central Park 8 artists will be allowed at at Columbus Circle, 5 on Central Park South, 10 by the Plaza Hotel, 13 along Wien Walk leading to the Central Park Zoo, 16 on the south side of the Metropolitan Museum, 12 on the north side. In Battery Park, 9 will be allowed only on the perimeter of the park. On the High Line, artists will be limited to 5 spots.
Artists will be allowed into Union Square Park on Monday morning beginning at 6am. The artists argue they are being unfairly targeted because the general public face no time restrictions as to when they are allowed to enter the park.
According to Mr. Lederman, artists will begin protesting "and otherwise resisting the new Park rules.... for the foreseeable future," beginning Monday at 9AM in the South Plaza (by 14th Street), in Union Square Park.
Read More:
Artists Planning A Work of Protest
Wall Street Journal - July 19, 2010 By Lauren Fedor
The Examiner - July 18, 2010 - By Leslie Koch
July 17, 2010 - By Peter Walsh
New York Times - July 16, 2010 - By Javier C. Hernandez
A Walk In The Park - July 15, 2010
A Walk In The Park - June 18, 2010
A Walk In The Park - April 10, 2010
A Walk In The Park - December 18, 2009 - By Geoffrey Croft
A Walk In The Park - November 21, 2009
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