Bloomberg art
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC is pushing a controversial measure that would prohibit many art vendors from selling their art in the limited green space that the City has left. The city and it’s residents are caught in a quandary: what to do about protecting free speech and at the same time prevent what many see as a detriment to park lands.
The New York Times:
The battle has proved contentious partly because it forces New Yorkers to choose between two cherished urban ideals: the serenity of its scarce greenery and a thriving and eclectic art scene.
The city maintains that street vendors have proliferated so rapidly that they pose a safety hazard on many sidewalks and park paths. Vendors say that slashing their numbers amounts to trampling on their First Amendment rights.
I’ve never seen any evidence of a safety hazard posed by artist, but perhaps they’ve been reproducing like pigeons in the last few years since I’ve been to New York. But when artists are upset about something, they don’t simply revert to printing placards, they make their own. The main difference between this art and many other previous and more subtle forms is that it is done purely out of self-preservation.
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