New NYC Rules for Street Photographers & Videographers


NYCLU has pushed the city to hammer out reasonable guidelines for photographers & videographers shooting on public property. The original proposal from the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcast (MOFTB) required permits and $1 million of insurance for anyone who spent 30 minutes photographing or filming in a single location!
Here’s the gist of the new deal:

Under the new rules, which the City negotiated with the NYCLU, anyone with a handheld camera or a tripod is free to film on city sidewalks for as long as they please without a permit so long as they don’t establish a physical perimeter around or direct passersby away from more than half of a sidewalk, according to rules released by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcast. The rules expressly state that photographers and filmmakers who are simply standing on City sidewalks with cameras and tripods need no permit and no insurance. The rules also expressly state that no permit is required for photography and filming of parades, rallies, protests and demonstrations.

For more info, visit:

Tthe email I received about this indicated (which I consider GREAT ADVICE):

I suggest printing the rules out and carrying them…I also carry notebook and pen to – “politely” – record badges, names and witnesses when they ignore the rules.

I think the NYCLU did a great job with this and if you want to show them some support with a donation, make one here.
{hat tip NV}

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