Not An Alternative

Friday: Picture New York Without Pictures of New York - a 1st Amendment Throw-Down

Please join the Filmmaker/Photographer contingent at this Friday’s First Amendment rally at Union Square. Recently proposed regulations seriously threaten the rights of photographers and filmmakers to operate in NYC, and they could go into effect as soon as this August. Other laws already restrict our rights to parade, dance, meet, bike, shout, and assemble.

Join performance artists Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Critical Mass bike riders, and Picture New York — a new coalition of concerned filmmakers and photographers, for a festive and un-permitted celebration of the First Amendment.

Friday, July 27, 6:30pm

Union Square, north end

Press Conference and Creative Rally

Bring: marching bands, gospel choirs, props and signs, cameras, projections, bikes, YOU and YOUR FRIENDS, and the 44 sweet words of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Upload: photos and videos of the rally or of your First Amendment feelings to YouTube and Flickr and tag them “camerawars” and “pictureny”. Send links to the Mayor’s office at jcho@film.nyc.gov.

Why now? Recently proposed regulations by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Broadcasting, and Theater could severely restrict the ability of even casual photographers and filmmakers to operate in New York City. A group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour (including setup and breakdown time) could be required to get a city permit and $1 million in liability insurance. The public comment period has been extended to August 3rd, but the regulations could soon go into effect thereafter.

So please send comments, videos, or photos to jcho@film.nyc.gov before August 3rd, visit http://www.pictureny.com for more info and to sign a petition, and join the spectacle on Friday to add to the image of New Yorkers celebrating their rights to free speech and assembly.

According to the NYCLU, “these regulations violate the First Amendment right to photograph in public places, and open the door to selective and discriminatory enforcement.” And they are a part of a broader continuum of attacks on our rights, including laws and regulations regarding meeting, filming, shouting, biking, parading, and dancing which, taken together comprise a serious threat to our freedom as well as our ability to defend that freedom.

At Union Square almost one month ago, before a Critical Mass bike ride, Reverend Billy was arrested for reciting the First Amendment. The charge? Harassment of the NYPD. The story ran in press outlets around the world. This headline-grabbing and constitutionally questionable arrest, and the recently proposed filming regulations, suggest that this is a perfect time to throw a party, First Amendment-style, for the press and the people of New York City…

See you then!

xoxo

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”