Earlier today on Avenue A, Kristen from Norway, spending her second day in NYC, was busking with an electric guitar on Avenue A between East Second Street and East Third Street.
After about, oh, 20 minutes, two police officers, driving in an unmarked vehicle, arrived on the scene. She was singing a song about Saturday, a pleasant alternative-rock (for lack of a better description) sounding number.
The officers waited until the song was over, then told her that she needed to leave.
She protested a little, explaining that she has busked throughout Europe the past 10 years without incident. The officers nodded and said that she was done for the day. She asked if she could play one more song. No. In a firm yet polite tone, they reiterated that she had to pack up and go.
As the officers returned to their car, several passersby explained to Kristen that the amplification was the problem in the estimation of the NYPD.
Did she have an acoustic guitar?
No.
Could she play the electric guitar without the small amp?
No, it will sound weird.
She thought she could just move up to the next block.
Hmm, no — not a good idea. The officers will certainly drive by again … and probably issue a ticket for something.
Her haul this morning: Two single $1 bills, and a handful of coins that looked to amount to $1.50.
Go to the park?
ReplyDeleteSo they hassle her, but let the idiots pouring out of the bars scream all night and let even more idiots have illegal barbecues on our roofs. Absurd.
ReplyDeleteKudos for keeping the place calm but seriously, where are these cops when some highstrung b&t hedgefund jocks attempt poorly to impress some obnoxious post-NYU "chix" at three in the morning? I'd love for them to stand outside my apartment block and politely tell these people to take it elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the East Village is a drunken free for all on any given Friday and Saturday night with Dude, Bro and OMG vomiting their way up and down 2nd Avenue. Where are the NYPD then?!
ReplyDeleteOfficial New York has been trying to run all the artists out of town for several decades now. The Bloomberg and Giuliani administrations were openly hostile to buskers and artists, throwing them out of Central Park and Washington Square Park. The NYPD has thus been conditioned to sic anyone making music or art or whatever in public spaces. As if the rents and the paucity of housing and spaces for making and displaying art or playing music weren't enough to drive any creative life left in this sorry town out.
ReplyDeleteIf only she had been wearing a sexy Mrs. Santa Claus outfit from Ricky's I bet they would have left her alone.
ReplyDeleteLike previous posters, I am stunned that the cops would go to the trouble to make this singer go away but they allow the college types that have taken over the neighborhood the ability to run wild, screaming and partying on the street on weekend nights. I hope someone from the 9th precinct reads this blog.
ReplyDeleteThe problem was, that she was doing this in the middle of the day. Had she had done this at 3 am. she could have cranked it to e'levin. No problem.
ReplyDeleteGiovanni and Anon 8:46 nailed it.
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, the nypd operates on a "act on complaint" basis when it comes to noise unless specifically directed because of a "task" directive. What this means is likely someone bitched so they had to tell her to move it along.
ReplyDeleteThe Bras and Bros are out on 2nd Avenue. Yelling and screaming like they always do on weekends. Never once did I see any of these clowns get reprimanded by the 9th.
ReplyDeleteOr as the T-shirt says: "Welcome to New York; now go home."
ReplyDeleteLife is hard.
ReplyDeleteI guess only pre-recorded music played outdoors in the garden space behind your building with drunk friends screaming at the top of their lungs until 4am (last night between 12th-13th streets) is okay.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta pay the dues if you want to sing the blues.
ReplyDeletehave you guys ever been to norway and seen the average salary? i am sure she can milk her parents for far more money than a lot of these megans and joshes
ReplyDeleteSorry but I'm tired of the beggers/dancers/self proclaimed musicians. I'm sure she can work or play inside for tips as far as where the cops are-mostly they are busy with more pressing matters - rapes shootings etc-sorry
ReplyDeleteI'm okay with tickets/warnings going to anyone who uses an amp on the street or in a park. A policeman's judgement and legal precedent notwithstanding. (So, yes, beat cops can ignore kid birthday parties, one-off theater and art pieces, etc.)
ReplyDeleteBut the kids who turn a plastic pail into a drum that you can hear from three blocks away are ok? They cops need to use better discretion based on the noise level. I really doubt her little guitar amp sounded like a Jimi Hendrix solo at Woodstock.
ReplyDeleteBucket drumming sucks. I always listen with an open ear but it always sounds like crap. No nuance whatsoever.
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