The New York City-based artist is under attack. Over the past year, both park rangers and the NYPD have been more stringent in their enforcement of (unfair) rules, as well as implementing rules that are not on the books for their own personal power trip. As an artist who’s only in person sales occur in Washington Square Park, I am one of MANY artists affected by this change in enforcement and policy, and like many others, I and my art will not be able to survive these attacks on our income and art. Many of us supplement our income or completely depend upon the sale of our art or tips from others, and the newfound strictness of the rangers is quite literally starving our income. New York is and always has been a city for artists, by artists, and this needs to be maintained. 

Recently, on July 16, several artists who were acting within the rules for sales or art within the park were given tickets ranging from $250-$375 for minor infringements like “setting up too close to benches” among other things. These reasons are obviously ploys to clear the park and remove the artistic agency and characterization associated with it. While enforcement has been harsh on everyone who sells items in the park, it has unfairly hit those who create clothing and jewelry, followed by those who create physical art. While weed-dealers sell carts, prerolls, and 8ths among other drug paraphernalia (not an attack on these people, I know and love many of them), the rangers often ONLY crack down on those with clothing racks or jewelry stands within the park. Just outside the park, there is an LED sign that read “No sound devices, no skating or bicycle riding, no alcohol, park closes at 12:00 am”. Most, if not all of these rules are broken on a daily basis, but rarely are punishments enforced. The reason I state this is to show the blatant unfairness and discrimination clothing and jewelry vendors receive. Around the city, there have been other examples of the NYPD and local authorities shutting down artistic expression as well. An example would be on July 15, when an art exhibit at O’Flaherty’s on Avenue C was shit down under the guise of a safety issue. This recent crackdown on artists is threatening the livelihood of many artists who, like our predecessors, hoped to thrive on revenue from our art. I personally have been kicked out of the park 4 times now on separate occasions, solely because “clothing is not a protected form of art”. At the least, we as artists are demanding that ALL forms of art are protected by city legislation, and park rangers and NYPD who have unlawfully harassed and expelled artists from the park receive some punishment and change their actions moving forward. The power to change these regulations lies within local governing bodies, such as the Manhattan Community Board 2. We call on local officials of ALL levels to demand artists safety and freedom, as well as legislative assistance to assure these goals where possible.

The following are testimony from other artists, so that you can hear the voices of those affected and understand what these regulations do to us.

The vending community in parks like Washington square park are beautiful. Your average artist or creative can set up their work gain appreciation and possibly even make a living. But recently the parks association has made it impossible to sell art and instead of facilitating our creative community they hand out fines and even arrest sellers. Our hard work and creative passions are being stamped out for seemingly no reason. The vending community in Washington square park is integral to the parks identity and the discourse sparked by the community helps build and uplift other artists. To myself and my fellow vendors who put their heart and souls into their work this is an insult and devastating to many of our livelihoods. I motion the community board to allow artistic vendors back in Washington square park as the community greatly benefits from our being there. It should also be said that this is a racial and ethnic matter and our diverse community full of many backgrounds is being attacked.

John Parks lV

What started with shutting down vendors like myself for selling clothing in Washington square park has expanded to a full on war against the artists that make this city home for so many people. It’s devastating to watch my friends, neighbors, and fellow artists have their livelihood ripped from under them, and their careers constantly disrespected for reasons such as being too close to a park bench, using clothing as a canvas, or performing in a way that the cops simply didn’t like. Furthermore, the police and park rangers gang up on artists, and it ends up being 1 person trying to sell their art in order to feed themselves and pay their rent, against 8 officers that continue to make up bullshit excuses and rules that don’t exist to push them out of the park. It’s a disgusting elitist attitude that is destroying communities at the heart of the city.

Kirby

Hello, I'm reaching out because I was recently issued a ticket for selling my handmade jewelry. From my understanding, I was fined because jewelry isn't "considered" expressive art. I found this profoundly insulting as I designed, drew, made, and crafted all of the pieces I had on display. The park employees seem more focused on ticketing artists than actual criminals.

According to the first amendment, federal, state, and/or local governments cannot restrict artistic expression based on its message, ideas, subject matter, or content. I believe the ticket I received is a violation of my first amendment rights. Every part of my earrings is HANDMADE, I explained this multiple times to the rangers. They disregarded my concerns and proceeded to hand me a ticket. In no way was I violating any park rules.

earringsbyrox