Mayor to Ease Permit Rules for Capturing City's Image

I chose this article for my gleaning because while skimming through it, I was shocked to see that a law had been considered which would have required a permit and at least $1 million in liability insurance for groups of two or more filming or photographing for more than 30 minutes in New York City. Although the law was meant as way to cut back on filmmakers and their sets from blocking pedestrian traffic, it would have greatly cut back on individuals’ ability to photograph public spaces in New York City. I wonder if the original version of the law was meant to prevent photographers from documenting New York. It seems like the way in which the law was originally written was meant to do more than simply prevent filmmakers from blocking sidewalks. It is very unlikely that two people standing in the same place with a camera for 30 minutes could seriously block pedestrian traffic.

Do you think the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting accidentally made the law too encompassing or that they wrote this law with the intention of limiting amateur photography and filmmaking? Do you think the Mayor’s office may have been looking for a way to decrease photography in New York City for security issues or that this law was created solely to deal with the issue of photographers and filmmakers obstructing sidewalks and pedestrian traffic?

The following is a link to the website of a group that worked to weaken the regulations regarding the need for permits and liability insurance for photographing and filming on the streets of New York… http://www.pictureny.org.