PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contacts:
Lisa Guido 917-573-2282
Laura Hanna 917-821-8092
info@picturenewyork.org
www.picturenewyork.org

Picture New York asks Mayor’s Office of Film to “Do The Right Thing”
As Period for Public Comment on Camera Permits Ends,
Will Deliver 26,000+ Petition Signatures Opposing New Rules

NEW YORK CITY. On Friday afternoon, Picture New York representatives will hand deliver a stack of 26,000+ petition signatures to the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting in time for the close of public comments on proposed rules that would significantly restrict the rights of photographers and filmmakers and could criminalize street photography in certain circumstances.

“The First Amendment insists on the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances and that’s what we’re doing.” says Eileen Clancy of Picture New York, a coalition of filmmakers, photographers and arts organizations that sprang up two weeks ago to fight the proposed regulations.

“The City asked for comments on the proposed rules, and over 26,000 - many of whom are industry professionals - respond: don’t try to regulate something that doesn’t need regulation,” says Lisa Guido, Emmy award-winning TV producer and founding member of Picture New York. The petition calls for:

(1) The proposed rules to be thrown out, and
(2) A new, more inclusive process of consultation to determine what regulations are really needed and to whom those regulations should apply.

The proposed rules say that two people using a handheld camera in one location for more than a half hour would need a permit in order to shoot. Permits generally require one million dollars worth of liability insurance. Five people with a tripod would need a permit if they stay in one place for more than ten minutes – including set-up and breakdown time.

The new rules could endanger the ability of independent artists to make a living, points out Jem Cohen, another founding member and a filmmaker whose work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Cohen states, “The regulations are oddly oblivious to the tradition of street photography, which is entirely built on spontaneity. Street photographers have never been able to know in advance where, when and for how long they’ll work.”

Supporters of Picture New York include Alfonso Cuarón, director of last year’s acclaimed feature film “Children of Men,” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” who wrote, “You have my total support, I only beg to disagree when you say ‘directors like Cuarón won’t be affected by these regulations’ as I’m affected whenever Freedom is restrained by anything that is not Responsibility. ”

Additional support for Picture New York has come from luminaries like documentarians Barbara Kopple, Albert Maysles, D A Pennebaker and St.Clair Bourne; rock musicians/photographers Patti Smith and Michael Stipe; director John Sayles and producer Maggie Renzi; Peter MacGill of Pace/MacGill Gallery, Magnum photographers Susan Meiselas and Gilles Peres; and director John Cameron Mitchell.

To date, the Mayor’s Office of Film has said only that it will review the new regulations in light of the comments and letters they have received.

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