City Hall Dispatch: Right on Rosie!
Photo not of an Urbanite walking tour
Right on Rosie…
In November of 2006, the NYPD proposed new “parade permit” which would have required that any gathering of more than 10 people get permission from the city.
They were accused at the time of trying to restrict public protests like Critical Mass and anti-war demonstrations, but the net effect would have been to effectively outlaw being in public with other people
Naturally, we thought this law absurd. It would basically mean that if the Urbanite staff gathered for a walking tour and picked up a few friends along the way, we could be thrown in the slammer.
Of course, this would never happen. I mean, who would want to hang out with a bunch of journo-bloggers on a walking tour? But still, in theory, it was cause for concern.
The regulations eventually got bumped up to 50 people, (no way even we got that many friends!) and took effect last year.
Well, fortunately, East Village councilwoman Rosie Mendez has put a stop to all this nonsense. She introduced a bill in the council today called the First Amendment Assembly Act, which would overturn the NYPD’s rules.
“Groups wishing to assemble and stay within the limits of the law should not be required to obtain a permit; the First Amendment is our permit,” Mendez said.
We hope the City Council moves quickly on this.
For more check out Assemble For Rights NYC
--David Freedlander
