TESTIMONY OF CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER CHRISTINE C. QUINN
Film Permitting Rules
Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting
December 13, 2007

I would like to thank the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting for working so hard to address the concerns that were raised by many, myself included, over the original proposed rules governing when persons filming on public property in the City would be required to obtain a permit.

The initial rules published over the summer were met with substantial opposition because they could have been interpreted to require amateur photographers, tourists and film students who were filming on City streets and sidewalks or in City parks to obtain a permit.

At that time the City Council Speaker’s Office reached out to the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting to express our opposition to the proposal. We were assured that the intent of the rules was to protect public spaces by ensuring that major filming activities could not co-opt public streets and sidewalks to the exclusion of pedestrians and residents, not in any way to unnecessarily burden the exercise of this important avenue of expression and creativity.

We recommended that the Mayor’s Office and the Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting work with concerned artists, residents, advocates and elected officials to re-write the proposed rules to better achieve the stated intent.

The main thrust of the new proposed rules is that you do not need a permit if you are filming without vehicles or equipment as long as you are not “obstructing” the sidewalk or traffic. Generally speaking, as long as persons filming are doing so without the use of significant equipment, cables or props, and they and their subjects are not blocking people from the use of the sidewalk or street, they can film for as long as they want without a permit. This is true even if they have set up a tripod.

I am pleased that the new proposed rules will ensure that local residents, tourists or film students holding cameras or video cameras or even using tripods while filming in public places will almost never be in the category of those needing permits. In keeping with our desire to protect this First Amendment Activity, these new rules only regulate filming at the point at which it begins to have significant public safety implications.

Anyone using vehicles or equipment (such as cables, props, screens etc.) and/or exclusively occupying a lane of traffic, or significant portion of a sidewalk would need a permit. My district, which covers Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton, as well as parts of the Flatiron and SoHo, is a popular place for commercial and amateur filming. My constituents and I want to protect these neighborhoods, and the residents and businesses in them, from being besieged by large filming productions that set up without any thought to the impact on the neighborhood. But we support allowing individuals to capture the iconic geography of our City.

I commend the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting and the City’s Law Department for keeping the Speaker’s Office and the New York Civil Liberties Union in the loop in the drafting of the new rules, in working so closely with affected groups, and for listening to and considering extensive public comment. I believe these efforts go far toward alleviating any concerns. I know that you will continue to do this as the rules are finalized and implemented.