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Designated zones proposed for New York Times Square street performers
Source: Reuters
US | Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:42pm EDT
Designated zones proposed for New York Times Square street performers
NEW YORK | BY LAILA KEARNEY
New York City would require topless women in body paint, Elmo impersonators and other costumed characters who populate Times Square to work in designated zones under a new plan to manage a surge of street performers in the famed Manhattan crossroads.
Mayor Bill de Blasio voiced qualified support for the proposal, which was released on Thursday by a business group and is a response to the increasing criticism of the performers from officials.
De Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have called the performers aggressive solicitors who threaten to drag Times Square back to the "bad old days" when the area was a tawdry magnet for prostitutes, drug dealers and panhandlers.
“Times Square should be a place of freedom of expression, freedom of movement and creativity, without being a free-for-all,” said Tim Tompkins, president of area business group Times Square Alliance, which wrote the report.
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Designated zones proposed for New York Times Square street performers
NEW YORK | BY LAILA KEARNEY
New York City would require topless women in body paint, Elmo impersonators and other costumed characters who populate Times Square to work in designated zones under a new plan to manage a surge of street performers in the famed Manhattan crossroads.
Mayor Bill de Blasio voiced qualified support for the proposal, which was released on Thursday by a business group and is a response to the increasing criticism of the performers from officials.
De Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have called the performers aggressive solicitors who threaten to drag Times Square back to the "bad old days" when the area was a tawdry magnet for prostitutes, drug dealers and panhandlers.
“Times Square should be a place of freedom of expression, freedom of movement and creativity, without being a free-for-all,” said Tim Tompkins, president of area business group Times Square Alliance, which wrote the report.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/17/us-usa-new-york-elmo-idUSKCN0RH33420150917