Death of a Dumb Idea

Give some credit to New York City officials: they have changed their minds and are killing a truly dumb idea. According to Crain's New York Business, the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting is easing permit restrictions put in place in May that severely limited your right to shoot photos in New York City without a permit and a million dollars' worth of insurance. That meant, say, that if you took a friend to Central Park and shot some photos for more than a half hour, you needed a permit and whopping insurance coverage. There were also restrictions on tripod use. The city insisted it wasn't aimed at sightseers and tourists. The photographers disagreed.

The new rules say it's okay to shoot photos if you don't have a lot of equipment (lights, vehicles, etc.) and you stay out of traffic. Fair enough; most tourists can live with that, as well as those of us who may do one- or two-person photo shoots for business. Strikes me as a victory for common sense.