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Picture America without pictures of America
A Coalition of Concerned Citizens, Filmmakers and Photographers

YouTube: YouTube.com/PictureAmerica |

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
NEW YORK CITY
Picture New York: http://PictureNY.org |
DP Review links | DPReview Forum | Forum 2 | NY Times 08-19 | PhotoAttorney |
"We must stomp out these kind of fires before they spread"! - Ledittmar / retired photojournalist
Opposition to the proposal has been powerful and nation-wide. How did it blow up like this? It began with The New York Civil Liberties Union, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of a filmmaker who was arrested; that lawsuit led the city to propose a new, more formal version of its existing film permit system. The NYCLU was the first group to formally oppose the rule when it was introduced. Stories in the local press followed. Photo District News |

Paul Amita, left, and Eileen Clancy
deliver petitions protesting the rule proposal to Dean McCann of the city's film office.
-- Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

“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

PICTURE NY
Picture New York: A Coalition of Concerned Filmmakers and Photographers
site: http://www.pictureny.org/archives/category/press-release |
site: http://PictureNY.org/ |
Welcome to the campaign page for Picture New York: A Coalition of Concerned Filmmakers and Photographers. We are sending the message below to the appropriate representatives and/or opinion leaders. To make your voice heard, please fill out the form below to submit this letter in your name. Thank you for your support, Picture New York: A Coalition of Concerned Filmmakers and Photographers

NY Times Video | YouTube videos: QueenJuliana | one | two | three |

SAMPLE PETITION:
Your Personal Statement
To: Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting
CC: NY City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations
I am writing with great concern about the implications of the recently proposed regulations concerning the rights of filmmakers and photographers in New York City.
The impact on public space of the types of activities you propose to regulate are so minimal that requiring permits is an undue burden towards exercising first amendment rights.
Creative expression, artistic work, and spontaneous documentation have historically played a vital role in New York City's culture and economy, and they continue to do so. The ability for this work to be produced would be seriously impeded by the proposed regulations.
Please dismiss these regulations altogether, and hold a new public hearing so that the communities that will be most impacted have an opportunity to meaningfully input into the shaping of new and constructive policies.
Regards,
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123) 456-7890
Fax: (123) 456-7890x123
Delivered by CitizenSpeak!
Report abuse to abuse@citizenspeak.org |
August 4, 2007
After Protests, City Agrees to Rewrite Proposed Rules on Photography Permits
By DIANE CARDWELL
Responding to an outcry that included a passionate Internet campaign and a satiric rap video, city officials yesterday backed off 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.
In announcing the move, officials at the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting said they would redraft the rules, intended to apply to commercial film and photography productions, to address complaints that they could be too broadly applied. They will then release the revised rules for public comment.
“It appears that the mayor's office on film has come to their senses,” said Eileen Clancy, a member of a group formed to protest the rules. “Clearly, they did not anticipate the way in which the rules were likely to affect so many different groups of people.”
Katherine Oliver, the film office commissioner, said in a statement, “We appreciate the feedback and collaboration of the production community in the city and look forward to revising our proposal.” The proposed rules would have required any group of two or more people using a camera in a public location for more than half an hour, and any group of five or more people using a tripod for more than 10 minutes, to get a permit and insurance. Press photographers and students would not be affected, officials said.
Officials at the mayor's film office originally agreed to write the rules as part of a settlement in April of a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Rakesh Sharma, a documentary filmmaker who was detained by the police in 2005 after using a hand-held video camera in Midtown. Told that he was required to have a permit to film on city property, Mr. Sharma later pursued one and discovered that there were no written guidelines on how permits were granted, according to the lawsuit.
City officials at first staunchly defended the draft regulations when they were released for comment in May, saying that they were intended to set standards for professionals and that there were few if any instances in which casual photographers or filmmakers would be affected.
But criticism mounted over the months, with opponents arguing that all manner of unobtrusive visual recording would be unfairly, and even unconstitutionally, restricted.
“If I joined a small group of bird-watchers, I would only be able to photograph a bird for less than 10 minutes under the proposed regulation changes,” D. Bruce Yolton, a photographer who studies and chronicles red-tailed hawks on his blog, http://urbanhawks.blogs.com, wrote to the film office. “Due to the random nature of birding photography, the bird would be gone before a permit could be issued.”
One group of opponents, a comedy troupe called Olde English, created a hip-hop video that its members submitted as public comment to the film office and sent to the civil liberties union, which posted it on its Web site.
“Proposin’ new rules to try to get rid of me/A million in insurance just to cover liabilities! / From Little Italy all the way to Harlem/Bloomberg’s jealous ’cause our movies won't star him,” the group raps in the video, shot in several outdoor locations that would require a permit under the proposed rules.
David Segal, a member of the group, said they had been making videos together since they were students at Bard College and were now doing so professionally, on a “very low budget.”
“And that only came after making hundreds of videos with no budget,” he said. “We know that ourselves, we wouldn't be able to do it had we not been able to film before these rules started getting talked about.”
The city's withdrawal represents a victory for a hastily formed advocacy group called Picture New York, which gathered more than 31,000 signatures for an online petition protesting the rules.
“We have everyone from actually extraordinarily famous fine-art photographers and filmmakers signing the petition to one man who identified himself as a garbageman and a band photographer,” Ms. Clancy, a member of the group and a video analyst who monitors police conduct, said at a news conference yesterday.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the civil liberties union, also praised the decision, saying that the effort was helped by the “huge group of New Yorkers” who are able to move quickly and creatively “to push back when the city clamps down and represses free speech.”
She also sounded a note of caution, saying that her organization would keep pressure on the city to make sure “that photographers and filmmakers can take pictures without a permit and without $1 million of insurance as long as they're not interfering with anybody else going about their business.”

Picturing Protest, Artists Organize to Fight Camera Permit Proposal
July 28, 2007, Saturday
By COLIN MOYNIHAN (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
As the city considers rule changes that would require a permit to photograph and film in public places, a coalition of filmmakers and photographers is mobilizing a campaign against the rules by using the very medium they believe the regulations would constrict. Members of a newly formed advocacy group ...
August 3, 2007 -
Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB)
Commissioner Katherine Oliver today announced that MOFTB will redraft proposed Charter-mandated rules for issuing permits to film or photograph on public property. The revision of the rules will take into account feedback MOFTB has received over the past two months. Public comment, which is scheduled to end today, will be re-opened for another 30-day period after the redrafted rules are published.
The decision to codify procedures came as part of a settlement from a recent lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). By reflecting existing procedures in City rules, MOFTB has endeavored to meet the challenge of identifying a threshold level of activity which necessitates
a film permit,
while at the same time substantially mirroring its current practices.
The goal is to maintain a safe environment for the public, while balancing the needs of filmmakers whose work may have a significant impact on pedestrian or vehicular use of public space.
A copy of the rules that were initially proposed
is available on the MOFTB website at NYC.gov/film .
The proposed rules are designed to codify procedures that have existed in practice since the office was established in 1966 as the first film commission in any locality in the nation. MOFTB has always offered
free permits
requiring only liability insurance
under certain circumstances.
In addition, if warranted by the activity, it has also offered free police assistance to streamline filming in New York City.
The permit has served as the filmer's authorization to interact with, and stage production activity, on City property.
The rules were published on May 25, 2007 and a hearing on the proposed rules took place on June 28, 2007. In response to the significant interest in the rules, MOFTB extended the comment period through August 3, 2007. After August 3rd, MOFTB will be reviewing comments. Upon completion of this review, MOFTB will redraft the proposed rules, taking into account input and feedback it has received from interested parties, to more effectively strike the balance between public safety and the needs of filmmakers.
Among other things, the re-drafting phase will focus on meaningfully addressing concerns that sections (b)(ii) and (b)(iii)
affected individuals who were not engaged
in the type of activities traditionally regulated by MOFTB.
These are the sections of the proposed rules that defined the conduct which triggered the requirement for a permit from MOFTB and included such considerations as the number of people involved and the duration of the activity. The redrafted proposed rules will then be published, a new 30-day comment period will be provided, and a public hearing will be held to consider the new proposal.
"We are dedicated to fulfilling our obligation to create film permitting rules as mandated by the City Charter," said Commissioner Oliver.
"We appreciate the feedback and collaboration of the production community in the City, and look forward to revising our proposal. Our office remains committed to providing our customers with expedited coordination of their film location work in the safest manner possible, so that the City's film and television industry can continue to flourish, free speech is protected and all parties can continue to film, photograph and enjoy the greatest City in the world."
The proposed rules do not impact press photographers, who are routinely credentialed by the NYPD. Nor do they impose new requirements upon
student filmmakers,
who have maintained access to permit services for 40 years and who will continue to be able to meet their insurance obligations by coverage through their school's insurance. Under the proposed rules, applicants who can demonstrate that they are unable to meet the insurance requirement will be eligible for a waiver of that requirement.
As the rulemaking process continues, its status and other required notifications "including notification of the publication of the revised proposal and the effective date of a final rule" will be posted on MOFTB's website.
For this information, as well as a current copy of the proposed rules,
please visit the MOFTB website at NYC.gov/film .
The Mayor‚'s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting
is the first film commission in the United States. It is the one-stop shop for all production needs in New York City, including free permits, free public locations and free police assistance. The agency markets New York City as a prime location, provides premier customer service to production companies and facilitates production throughout the City's five boroughs.
July 3, 2007
In an effort to better assist the public, the NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB) issued proposed
"film permit rules"
on May 25, 2007. It's important to note that MOFTB has issued such permits for over 40 years.
The process is remaining substantially unchanged. Rather, the City is merely codifying existing procedures. This decision came as part of a settlement from a recent lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). A hearing on the new rules took place on Thursday, June 28, 2007. Please note that the new rule does not impact press photographers, who are routinely credentialed by the NYPD. Nor does the rule impact student filmmakers who are covered by their school's insurance and have also maintained access to permit services for 40 years.
Historical Background As the first U.S. film commission -- founded in 1966 -- MOFTB has always offered free permits. In addition, if warranted by the activity, it has also offered free police assistance to streamline filming in New York City. The permit has served as the filmer's authorization to interact with, and stage production activity, on City property.
The New Rules The proposed rules would effect the following practical changes:
* 1) Film or still photography activity involving a tripod and a crew of 5 or more persons (at one site for 10 or more minutes) would require a permit, or the same activity among two people at a single site for more than 30 minutes. However, note that this situation is RARE for recreational photographers;
* 2) Applicants unable to meet the insurance requirement may be eligible for a waiver of insurance;
* 3) Still photographers engaged in "permitted" activity (activity where you need a permit) would require insurance. "Permitted" activity can include those where vehicles or equipment other than hand-held cameras are used.
MOFTB will continue to accept feedback on the proposed rules until August 3, 2007, and may determine that it is appropriate to revise its proposal.
The City of New York Mayor's Office of
Film Theatre & Broadcasting
1697 Broadway Suite 602, New York, New York 10019.
Proposed Rules PDF File |
August 3, 2007
NYC Film Permit Rules Will Be Redrafted
NEW YORK, NY
In response to an outcry by photojournalists, moviemakers, and advocates of press freedoms, the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB) Friday announced they will step back and try again with a new draft of rules for issuing permits to film or photograph on public property.
Friday was to have been the last day for public comment on the existing draft of the rules. The MOFTB said a period for public comment will be re-opened after the redrafted rules are published.
The New York Civil Liberties Union had complained that the new rules would unfairly restrict amateur photography, and that the requirements to have a $1 million dollar insurance policy for various types of filming was prohibitive. They said that New York City was encroaching on First Amendment rights and threatened to sue. “We are dedicated to fulfilling our obligation to create film permitting rules as mandated by the City Charter,” commissioner Katherine Oliver said today. “We appreciate the feedback and collaboration of the production community in the city, and look forward to revising our proposal. Our office remains committed to providing our customers with expedited coordination of their film location work in the safest manner possible, so that the city's film and television industry can continue to flourish, free speech is protected and all parties can continue to film, photograph and enjoy the greatest city in the world.” A letter opposing the proposed rules from NPPA president Tony Overman to the MOFTB's assistant commissioner, Julianne Cho, acknowledged that the city has the right to place certain restrictions to ensure public safety (as it relates to large film productions), but that NPPA feels this new policy "goes far beyond that, and puts the average photographer at risk." MOFTB said today that the proposed rules do not impact press photographers who are granted credentials by the New York Police Department, nor do they impose new requirements upon student filmmakers, who have maintained access to permit services for 40 years and who will continue to be able to meet their insurance obligations by coverage through their school's insurance. Under the proposed rules, applicants who can demonstrate that they are unable to meet the insurance requirement will be eligible for a waiver of that requirement, MOFTB said in a statement. "We believe that the proposed rules were overly broad and vague and could have been used in an arbitrary and capricious manner by the police and other government agencies to abridge both press and public First Amendment rights to photograph in a public places," attorney Mickey H. Osterreicher said. "Just as we have seen the Patriot Act invoked as a reason to prohibit photography, this will just be another tool in their arsenal to harass the press. We applaud the decision and look forward to working with them and the NYCLU in crafting language that is narrowly tailored and unambiguous." Osterreicher is NPPA's general legal counsel and specializes in First Amendment and press freedom issues.
August 2, 2007
NPPA Voices Opposition To NYC Film Permit Rule Changes DURHAM, NC
Photojournalists and other concerned parties have until Friday to voice their public comments and complaints about the New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting's proposed rule changes, and the National Press Photographers Association has sent New York City officials a letter objecting to the city's proposed film and photography permit requirements. A letter from NPPA president Tony Overman to the MOTFB's assistant commissioner, Julianne Cho, acknowledges that the city has the right to place certain restrictions to ensure public safety (as it relates to large film productions), but that NPPA feels this new policy "goes far beyond that, and puts the average photographer at risk." Overman also wrote that the permit plan goes against the public interest, in that journalists almost always cannot plan their news coverage in advance, and that the proposed time restrictions of 30 minutes on location makes it impossible for photojournalists to cover and explain events that take longer than a half hour. "We understand that the proposed policy contains an exception for journalists who have a press pass from the New York City Police Department," Overman wrote, "but it is not the role of the NYPD to determine who is a journalist. Even if it were appropriate, this would not help photojournalists without a valid NYPD press pass who cover news, features, entertainment, politics and sports."
"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.
This permit rule change creates that very real possibility. City property belongs to the citizens and the city has no right to limit safe, constitutionally protected behavior in a public venue." ''
A description of the proposed rules is online here. Photographers who wish to submit comments on the proposed rules may do so by writing to jcho@film.nyc.gov. NPPA's Advocacy Committee suggests helpful messages might be ones that explain how the proposed rules would negatively affect a photojournalist's ability to do their job. Photojournalists can also sign an online petition opposing the rules here, and an automatic letter generator opposing the rules is here.
Great news! The Mayor’s Office of Film announced Friday afternoon that they are headed back to the drawing board with their regulations.
You spoke ? they listened. And did the right thing. Wonderful, right? We'll be watching for the revised regulations, so we'll have to get back to you on that. Tony Overman, president of the National Press Photographers Association really got it right: “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.”
Stay tuned for the next stage — new proposals that we hope truly reflect the massive outcry of this community of 1st Amendment-loving amateurs and professionals alike.
-- Press Release |
June 29, 2007 NY Times
City May Seek Permit and Insurance for Many Kinds of Public Photography
E-MAIL PRINT REPRINTS SAVE SHARE
By RAY RIVERA
Some tourists, amateur photographers, even would-be filmmakers hoping to make it big on YouTube could soon be forced to obtain a city permit and $1 million in liability insurance before taking pictures or filming on city property, including sidewalks.
New rules being considered by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting would require any group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour to get a city permit and insurance.
The same requirements would apply to any group of five or more people who plan to use a tripod in a public location for more than 10 minutes, including the time it takes to set up the equipment.
Julianne Cho, assistant commissioner of the film office, said the rules were not intended to apply to families on vacation or amateur filmmakers or photographers.
Nevertheless, the New York Civil Liberties Union says the proposed rules, as strictly interpreted, could have that effect. The group also warns that the rules set the stage for selective and perhaps discriminatory enforcement by police.
“These rules will apply to a huge range of casual photography and filming, including tourists taking snapshots and people making short videos for YouTube,” said Christopher Dunn, the group's associate legal director.
Mr. Dunn suggested that the city deliberately kept the language vague, and that as a result police would have broad discretion in enforcing the rules. In a letter sent to the film office this week, Mr. Dunn said the proposed rules would potentially apply to tourists in places like Times Square, Rockefeller Center or ground zero, “where people routinely congregate for more than half an hour and photograph or film.”
The rule could also apply to people waiting in line to enter the Empire State Building or other tourist attractions.
The rules define a “single site” as any area within 100 feet of where filming begins. Under the rules, the two or more people would not actually have to be filming, but could simply be holding an ordinary camera and talking to each other.
The rules are intended to set standards for professional filmmakers and photographers, said Ms. Cho, assistant commissioner of the film office, but the language of the draft makes no such distinction.
“While the permitting scheme does not distinguish between commercial and other types of filming, we anticipate that these rules will have minimal, if any, impact on tourists and recreational photographers, including those that use tripods,” Ms. Cho said in an e-mail response to questions.
Mr. Dunn said that the civil liberties union asked repeatedly for such a distinction in negotiations on the rules but that city officials refused, ostensibly to avoid creating loopholes that could be exploited by professional filmmakers and photographers.
City officials would not confirm that yesterday. But Mark W. Muschenheim, a lawyer with the city's law department, which helped draft the rules, said, “There are few instances, if any, where the casual tourist would be affected.”
The film office held a public hearing on the proposed rules yesterday, but no one attended. The only written comments the department received were from the civil liberties group, Ms. Cho said.
Ms. Cho said the office expected to publish a final version of the rules at the end of July. They would go into effect a month later.
The permits would be free and applications could be obtained online, Ms. Cho said. The draft rules say the office could take up to 30 days to issue a permit, but Ms. Cho said she expected that most would be issued within 24 hours.
Mr. Dunn says that in addition to the rules being overreaching, they would also create enforcement problems.
“Your everyday person out there with a camcorder is never going to know about the rules,” Mr. Dunn said. “It completely opens the door to discriminatory enforcement of the permit requirements, and that is of enormous concern to us because the people who are going to get pointed out are the people who have dark skin or who are shooting in certain locations.”
The rules were promulgated as a result of just such a case, Mr. Dunn said.
In May 2005, Rakesh Sharma, an Indian documentary filmmaker, was using a hand-held video camera in Midtown Manhattan when he was detained for several hours and questioned by police.
During his detention, Mr. Sharma was told he was required to have a permit to film on city property. According to a lawsuit, Mr. Sharma sought information about how permits were granted and who was required to have one but found there were no written guidelines. Nonetheless, the film office told him he was required to have a permit, but when he applied, the office refused to grant him one and would not give him a written explanation of its refusal.
As part of a settlement reached in April, the film office agreed to establish written rules for issuing permits. Mr. Sharma could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Mr. Dunn said most of the new rules were reasonable. Notably, someone using a hand-held video camera, as Mr. Sharma was doing, would no longer have to get a permit.

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