WTF?

So.....

Any of my busking peeps out there know of a new ordinance that supposedly prevents musicians from performing on subway platforms? My buddy Dave and I were approached by some officers while busking the other day, and were informed that we were in violation of this new ordinance. They were cool about it. But it strikes me as bogus considering the court rulings on busking in the past, not to mention

THE FIRST AMENDMENT.

It's been a bad week for busking. I went out with Dave and DK earlier this week to play and we got pounced on by some rookie cops who first declared music peformance in subway stations to be illegal (which is obviously incorrect, as any garden-variety squirrel could attest), before finall ticketing us for the only offense they could think of, "blocking pedestrian traffic." You'd have to see where we were playing to form your own opinion. But suffice it to say that only the world's thickest numbskull could interpret is as "blocking" anything.

We're of course contesting the whole thing. Updates to follow.

The new "platform ordinance" is what annoys me more than a $50 fine. If it is indeed real, it's probably only a matter of time until it's overturned in court.

I've been playing in subways for three years now, and have been asked to leave five times ever, TWO of those in the last week! To quote one of the officers who fined us earlier this week, "It's at the discretion of the officer." In other words, it's NOT illegal, because if it was, an officer of good moral standing would ALWAYS ticket the offending busker. I've been overlooked, passed, and given good blessings by more NYPD transit officers than I can count.

Anyone else see a hole in the Transit Authority's logic here?