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Police and street vendors don't mix. The Villager reports that comedian and Soho resident Whoopi Goldberg thinks the treatment the police give the vendors is "atrocious," and she's not alone.
Recently a group of sidewalk artist vendors staged a protest against the harassment by the First Police Precinct. While many (including residents, business owners and the art vendors themselves) agree that the illegal street peddlers should be stopped, the police have been going after the wrong (legal art) vendors.
Last Saturday morning ten police officers came to W. Broadway and Spring St. and asked a number of art vendors to move their stands. Robert Lederman, president of A.R.T.I.S.T., or Artists’ Response to Illegal State Tactics, shot a video of his interaction with police which you can watch below.
They tell him his "art sucks"!
The Villager also reports that "City Councilmember Alan Gerson is currently working on a bill to deal with the problem, which he says could be finished in several weeks. While he didn’t speak about specifics, he said in an interview that the bill 'seeks better enforcement and regulation through the clarification of ambiguities and the closing of loopholes.… Right now, it’s just so confusing.' Gerson said First Amendment-protected vendors were only “the smallest part of the puzzle” in the scope of the whole bill."
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Your article does not make it clear. Were these particular "artists" illegally selling art on the street, or not?
There's no difference between a guy selling watches on the corner and a guy selling drawings - they either have a permit or they don't.
To suggest otherwise is nothing short of elitist.
the sidewalks are already too crowded, it just gets worse when one of these vendors have a monster table that takes up half the sidewalk
I don't see anything that the Police did that was out of line or abusive? If you called the police to complain about something that you didn't like, they would have to do something about that too.
Some people have too much time on their hands.
these artists are harrasing that gallery -besides how are the police harrasing the artists? that the cops explained their position pretty well. The gallery is the ones harrasing them...gallery pays taxes and high rents these artists don't pay squat and block the sidewalk. they're freakin annoying.
This fella is obviously trying rile these cops up. What does that prove? That b-rate artist selling their wares on the the street in SOHO can be disrespectful moronic idiots? I'm all for protecting people's rights, but sadly this little video clip does more to harm the cause than to help anything. Nice try......
Look as long as they don't block 3/4 of the damn sidewalk I got no problem with them ! Sell your wares, Just do it legally !
The cops did a good job. They played it cool. The "artist" is another one of those people who believe they are entitled to everything. Get off the sidewalk. And take the tourists with you.
Who cares what Whoopi Goldberg thinks?
Why do some people consider it legitimate to violate city laws/ordinances just because it's "easier"?
I pay taxes, get permits and follow rules, because I share this city with other people, and I want them to follow the rules that are important to me. I see nothing wrong with how the police dealt with the situation. They were calm, collected, and were very specific as to why they were there.
ok, somebody has to speak on behalf of the artists here. does anyone recall that soho was once a place for burgeoning artists? that doesn't mean expensive mainstream galleries or Armani clothing stores.
isn't anyone here outraged that the police are spending their time quibbling with harmless people on the sidewalk(to protect the interest of wealthy gallery owners - yes, $ talks), rather than fighting crime? is this how our tax money should be spent?
i would rather see the police doing what they're paid to do.
The point is that artists have constitutional rights to display and sell their artwork but illegal vendors do not. Anyone who can not tell the difference should find out the facts before they condemn everyone. Take out your aggression on those who break the law not those who are protected by it. Soho needs it artists - not it's bigots.
How I see it, I see alot of SoHo - SNOBBIES - who walk down their streets like they're walking down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Hello this is New York ! They are the furthest thing from being liberal and most likly vote for Bush in secret to get through those tax loopholes they jump through everyday so they can spend money on those very very expensive designer clothes they wear and look liberally elitest. Stop Harrassing The Artists !!!!!
What about the illegal food vendors who have staked out large swaths of Broadway between Prince and Spring. For those of us who live there, it is a nightmare. The police don't do anything.