Monday afternoon I wandered down to Union Square and stumbled on a fabulous  busker , Morgan Okane, playing his banjo  by the fountain. Not one song in the Park  Police approached the musician and told him he had to leave. First it was because he was amplified then when they saw he was not they said he had to go anyway – “Because there were more than 20 people listening” the two  cops explained.

Seriously NYC? Seriously, this is what is important to you?

The fact that a guy w/ a banjo was making  more than 20 people happy at a time seems hardly a reason for law enforcement to  step up & do something.

Then this on the news…

http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2011/may/30/street-performers-upset-central-park-quiet-zones/

Marlon Bishop/WNYC John Boyd, singer, performing in the Bethesda Arcade despite the new regulations that prohibit playing music there.

An acoustically brilliant area near Strawberry  Fields, where classical musicians have played unamplified for years in Central Park, has now been deemed a “Quiet Zone” by the city of New  York.

A “Quiet Zone” banning classical  street musicians entertaining your tourists for free???? Are you kidding me Mayor Bloomberg?

PS – Wasn’t Strawberry Fields named after those guys, those  guys who were named after some bug or somethin’? They got really famous for just sitting there in silence hour after hour, day after day…. 🙂

And finally … I found out that my friend and fellow  busker/Steel  Drummer Caesar Passee, was arrested Friday for playing his Steel Drums in public. He  “got  a police escort  in midday traffic with sirens and  all”  – Yeah,  this is a fabulous use of NYC’s dwindling budget.  Good idea Bloomberg  – cut thousands of school teachers & close  firehouses & spend the little money we have on  arresting  musicians  who are merely exercising their First Amendment. Yeah, this is a great plan…

I’m saddened by the Mayor and the city’s choice to  spend so much time, money and manpower shutting  down  such a  harmless, and honestly, life affirming activity as music. I  realize  you’re  fiscally hurting  NYC but my God, pick on something useful – music is something that actually  makes people happy, not sad, and to trying to  ‘clean up the city’ or pull in some  cash by arresting musicians is insane.

By the way New York City, I’d venture to say that both the sanitizing of art  out of NYC and harassment to enforce that ‘sanitization’  does not make  your city more  appealing to those visiting…but less.

The bright light in this story is  that  the musicians are not  going anywhere despite the “Quiet  Zone” demarcation – I’m proud of my fellow buskers.

Keep the music going…