"I thought they put 'quiet zone' so that we could listen to the music!" said tourist Zita Misley, mother of three.
TOO LOUD? Singers and musicians perform 'Ave Maria' in the Bethesda Terrace Arcade in Central Park on Sunday to protest a ban against performers in eight different 'quiet zones' throughout the park. (Photo: Catherine Yang/Epoch Times)
Manhattan
By Geoffrey Croft
On Sunday classically trained musicians and singers accompanied by Concert Harps, Hammered Dulcimers and guitars called on the City and elected officials to abandon the recent crackdown prohibiting performing in Central Park.
The group - representing a variety of musically tastes and styles including gospel, classical, jazz, a cappella and contemporary pop - challenged the policy and legally of such actions.
Critics of the crackdown assert the enforcement is a violation of the First Amendment and is being done arbitrarily.
John Boyd, a legally blind African American baritone singer, and father of nine, was arrested last week. He has been issued nine summons over the last few months related to singing with potential fines totaling thousands of dollars. He was allegedly told by an enforcement officer that he wasn't allowed to sing a cappella.
"This is a first amendment issue and freedom of expression is very important to me," said Mr. Boyd, a 48-year-old former choir director from Detroit who had been signing in the park with his children for five years.
In an attempt to silence performers, on May 23rd the Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Department initiated a "Quiet Zone" near the Bethesda Fountain. The Central Park Conservancy began quietly installing signs around the Terrace announcing the area's new policy without any community input or partisipation.
“The introduction of enforcement of quiet zones, resulting in the loss of freedom of expression, is an intrusion on the public space,” Civil Rights attorney Norman Siegal said under the Bethesda Terrace Arcade. “It is unacceptable and impermissible.”
There are already seven other quiet zones in the park, including Strawberry Fields, Sheep Meadow and the Conservatory Garden.
"As far as I'm concerned it is within our legal rights, our constitutionally protected rights to keep playing," said vionlist Meredeth Rachel.
Ms. Rachel started an online petition to highlight the issue.
"Some people specifically come to the park to hear the musicians - to take a few minutes to rest - and enjoy the music before going about the rest of their day. Where else in the world can you hear a dixieland jazz band, then walk 100 feet to hear classical duets, string-influenced rock n' roll covers, a gospel choir, a favorite aria, or some of Brooklyn's best indie bands, all performing acoustically in open air for free?" she wrote.
“It’s called civil disobedience,” Mr.Olson who plays the hammered dulcimer told WNYC. “This is a public space, and they’re violating our free speech. We don’t accept this notion that they [the Central Parks Conservancy] give us permission to express our First Amendment rights. Our rights come from the Constitution.”
The story has garnered considerable attention around the world since the issue recently began to come to light.
Parks Department responses to the media have repeatedly claimed they have received noise complaints but have so far been unable to provide any documentation.
The press office has also stated that musicians attract crowds of up to 700 at Bethesda terrace, a number both the musicians and enforcement personnel dispute.
"Crowds of 700 regularly overwhelmed the terrace, completely blocked the stairs, and those trying to pass climbed on and damaged sandstone carvings on the side," Parks spokeswoman Vickie Karp wrote in an e-mail to the NY Post.
"That's not true. I don't where they got that from. If I know them they probably just made it up," said a PEP officer in the park.
"We'd love to have that. We'd be lucky if we get seven," said Mr. Olson. "They just want us out."
Last week the agency's press department released a photograph to the media showing a large crowd purportedly relating to the issue when in fact it had nothing to do with people gathering to hear the musicians.
Parks Department officials says crowds drawn by musicians like this are damaging the stairs at Bethesda Terrace according to DNAinfo which irresponsibly posted this and other misinformation without fact checking it or bothering to get a response from opponents. (Photo courtesy of the Parks Department via DNAinfo)
The Parks Department has said that the eight quiet zones only make up 5 percent of Central Park.
"The musicians have approximately 850 acres to use," Mrs. Karp stated. "All eight quiet zones amount to less than 33 acres. The public wants quiet zones and have repeatedly requested quiet places for passive enjoyment of the park."
Attorney Norman Siegal questioned the relevance and validity of such statements. He asked what percentage of the park is actually used by people for rest is included in the designated quiet zones. Central Park covers about 850 acres, but some areas are largely unused by park goers.
Park officials have also claimed the sounds from the un-amplified performers at Bethesda are harming wildlife and plant life throughout the park.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Attorney Norman Siegal joins performers in the Bethesda Terrace Arcade in Central Park on Sunday to protest a ban against performers in the park. (Catherine Yang/Epoch Times)
For more than a century, area around the Bethesda Terrace has been one of the cultural centers of Central Park. It has been home to thousands of talented musicians and street performers who contribute to the cultural fabric of New York City and complement the area's inspiring views.
Tourists and locals alike flock to the Terrace area, not only to admire the noted architectural elements amidst the pastoral beauty, but also to enjoy the performances of the musicians, and take part a uniquely New York experience.
Musicians have long been drawn to Central Park including to the acoustics of the historic arcade, also known for its Minton Tile ceiling which the Conservancy recently restored at a cost of $ 7 million dollars.
However "Quite Zones" aren't the only areas where musicians say they are feeling the crackdown.
Classical harpist Meta Epstein, 59, of Mill Basin, Brooklyn, says she has been repeatedly intimidated by park enforcement officers and Central Park Conservancy employees for playing on a grassless area along a path opposite the row boat concession near the Boat House.
Ms. Epstein won first prize at the Paris Conservatory of Music in the 1970s but she's afraid to play in the park.
The day after the press conference she was asked to leave the area again. This week she set up on a metal grate and held a silent protest displaying a sign.
She said on another occasion she was forced to leave an area across from the Boat House after a manager at the controversial eatery began yelling at her.
Tourist Zita Misley, a mother of three, said she'd noticed the "quiet zone" sign nearby, but hadn't quite got the point.
"Oh, I thought they put 'quiet zone' so that we could listen to the music!" she said when told of the park's campaign.
Plans to install a cafe in the historic arcade have recently come to light, leading to strong speculation that this is one of the reasons the city is pushing to clear out this area. According to plans obtained by NYC Park Advocates, the highest price on the menu is for alcohol.
Mr. Siegal said he plans to contact the lawyers Parks Department and the Central Park Convervancy lawyers to see if this “growing controversy can be amicably solved.”
Read/View More:
(AFP) - June 12, 2011 - By Sebastian Smith
No Radios by the Fountain, Please! Or Cellos!
New York Times - June 5, 2011 - By Colin Moyniyan
New York Post - June 6, 2011 - By Vinita Singla
Street musicians protest Central Park's new quiet zones that ban singing, strumming
New York Daily News - June 6th 2011 - By Lillian Rizzo
Musicians fined for performing in areas of Central Park
WABC - June 5, 2011 - By Lucy Yang
Central Park Musicians Plead the First
The Epoch Times - June 5, 2011 - By Catherine Yang
RAW VIDEO: Park Performer Protest
WPIX - June 5, 2011
Bethesda Fountain Is Now For Quiet Drinking, Not Music
gothamist - June 5, 2011 - Garth Johnston
Musicians Perform in Central Park to Protest 'Quiet Zones'
DNAinfo - June 5, 2011 - By Tim Gorta
Central Park Musicians Protest Crackdown
My Fox - June 5, 2011 By Mat Alverez
Musicians Protest Central Park's "Quiet Zones" Crackdown
WNBC - June 6, 2011
Musicians Protest New ‘Quiet Zones’ In Central Park
CBS - June 5, 2011 - By Dave Carlin
Musicians Out Cafe In Central Park Bethesda Music Crackdown
A Walk In The Park - June 5, 2011
A Walk In The Park - May 29, 2011
Media Advisory
June 4, 2011
Central Park Musicians Protest Crackdown
Prohibiting Performing • Challenge Policy & Legality
What: Press Conference: A diverse coalition of musicians and singers speak out against the City's recent crackdown prohibiting performing near Central Park's Bethesda Fountain. The crackdown has resulted in numerous summonses being issued and an arrest. Performers say they have been repeatedly intimidated by park officials and threatened with arrest and confiscation of instruments. On May 23, The Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Department initiated a "Quiet Zone" near the Bethesda Fountain, home to a wide variety of musicians.
Who: Performers, children, seniors and Civil Rights attorney Norman Siegel.
Where: Bethesda Terrace, Central Park - (located in middle of the park at 72nd Street near Bethesda Fountain)
When: Sunday, June 5th - 11: 30am.
Summary: Classically trained musicians and singers - accompanied by Concert Harps, Hammered Dulcimers and guitars, and representing a variety of musically tastes and styles including gospel, classical, jazz, a cappella and contemporary pop - call on the City and elected officials to abandon the recent crackdown prohibiting performing in Central Park. Musicians have long been drawn to the area including to the acoustics of the historic arcade, also known for its Minton Tile ceiling which the Conservancy recently restored at a cost of $ 7 million dollars.
In an attempt to silence performers, on May 23rd the Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Department initiated a "Quiet Zone" near the Bethesda Fountain. The Central Park Conservancy began quietly installing signs around the Terrace announcing the area's new policy without any community input.
Critics assert the enforcement is a violation of the First Amendment and is being done arbitrarily. One baritone singer, John Boyd, a legally blind African American and father of nine was arrested last week. He has been issued nine summons over the last few months related to singing with potential fines totaling thousands of dollars. He was allegedly told by an enforcement officer that he wasn't allowed to sing a cappella.
"This is a first amendment issue," said Mr. Boyd, a 48-year-old former choir director from Detroit who had been signing in the park with his children for five years.
The story has garnered considerable attention around the world since the issue recently began to come to light.
Background: For more than a century, area around the Bethesda Terrace has been one of the cultural centers of Central Park. It has been home to thousands of talented musicians and street performers who contribute to the cultural fabric of New York City and complement the area's inspiring views.
Tourists and locals alike flock to the Terrace area, not only to admire the noted architectural elements amidst the pastoral beauty, but also to enjoy the performances of the musicians, and take part a uniquely New York experience. Some people specifically come to the park to hear the musicians - to take a few minutes to rest - and enjoy the music before going about the rest of their day. Where else in the world can you hear a dixieland jazz band, then walk 100 feet to hear classical duets, string-influenced rock n' roll covers, a gospel choir, a favorite aria, or some of Brooklyn's best indie bands, all performing acoustically in open air for free?
