Many cities are already doing this but it looks like New York City wants to set the standards a bit too high as the mayor of the city is sniffing some new laws that would require photographers and videographers to get hold of permits and million dollar liability insurance policies before shooting in NYC.
The regulation would apply to any group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour. Also, these regulations would apply to any group of five or more people who would be using a tripod for more than ten minutes, including the time to set up the tripod.
But there is some ambiguity in the wording of the proposed rules, that they could be applied to amateur photographers, tourists taking snapshots or hobbyists making short movies for an online outlet like YouTube. There is no mention of the filming of political protests by participants although it would certainly seem to apply. This vagueness can result in citizens getting the short end of the legal stick.
The Office of Theater, Film, and Broadcasting will be publishing the final version of the rules at the end of July, and the rules would go into effect in August. The permits would be free and applications could be obtained online.
Source: The New York Times
