Cops Back Off Ticketing Times Square's Cartoon Characters

Flickr user springhudson

Times Squares' costumed entrepreneurs are officially free to ply their trade without fear of retribution. According to the Daily News, the NYPD has stopped the policy of ticketing the Elmos, Hello Kitties, Buzz Lightyears and Spidermen who take pictures with kiddies for tips. The entertainers are allowed to receive tips, but not charge for pictures taken with them in costume. According Girish Dani, who dresses up as Spiderman, Elmo still gets a bad rap: "A few Elmos chase people for tips…I heard one or two Elmos drink whiskey, and this could be an issue." Ah, but Sesame Street is the type of place that drives a monster to drink.

Dani says he can make anywhere from $20 to $100 in an eight hour shift, but competition to nab the most photos from wee ones is stiff: "The costumed crowd on Friday included four Elmos, three Mickey Mice, two Puss In Boots and a Grinch." Gah! Shouldn't that tear a hole in the time-space continuum?

36-year-old Single mom Andrea Gutierrez dresses up as Minnie Mouse to support her family, and "because I love working with children. It can be a tough way to make a living." Though they may be free from $60 citations in the future, the corporations that own the likenesses of the characters may still have a case. Then again, what was that line in that Sinatra song? You've got to be a part of it / That sweating-your-ass-off-in-a-suit in Midtown, part of it.

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By Christopher Robbins in News on December 11, 2011 5:40 PM

Comments [rss]

glen_glenn

Still not as bad as the guys scamming people with their CDs -- I saw them working people hard this weekend.

Dirk

These guys are nasty. Their costumes look like they might have bedbugs.

I see them constantly strong arm tourists. Yeah right, they don't ask for tips.

Al O

So, smelly Elmo, and his scary strongarm friend, are now free to ripoff tourists with impunity and make visiting NYC an ever more pleasant experience. It's so strange that the NYPD declines to police a scam this blatant, but just try to pop open a beer and relax quietly in the park and the hounds of justice will be upon you.

jisnotused

I'm supposed to hate on this but every time I see them and how their pupils are slightly misaligned, I smile.

splicernyc

Isn't there some copyright infringement going on here?

aspiringrapper

You'd think so, wouldn't you? Especially since the costumes are always kind of nasty, the costumed are often pushy and there's little redeeming about it for the copyright owners, especially if something goes south.

splicernyc

I'll wait for the headline about Elmo, Cookie Monster or Woody shoving a kid to the ground or worse.

The_Green_Devil

I love watching the scammers at work- the cute cuddly cartoon characters posing with children and then the second heavy coming in after the photos to strong-arm people into forking over tips. Gotta love NYC, where even Elmo will take a baseball bat to someone's knees.