Proselytizing in New York City

May 4, 2006 5:09 AM

New York mefites, please give me some info about proselytizing / busking / begging in New York City.

Over the summer I'll be in New York, and part of my mission will involve spreading the Good News about Liberal Democracy, if that is feasible. Sorry, a lot of questions here...

What are the laws regarding handing out leaflets on the streets? Do you need a permit? If so, is that regularly checked / enforced?

Can you get away with sort of borderline street performance / begging, with or without a permit? If I bring a soap box and stand in the middle of Times Square, will I get hassled by the Man? Forcibly removed? Can I have a hat out for donations? Is this sort of thing commonplace in New York?

Can you suggest prime locations to do this? Places to avoid? (in Manhattan)

If there is anything else you think I should know about this, please do advise.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can offer.

posted by Meatbomb to Education (18 answers total)

Many demonstrators/information spreaders/whatever-you-wanna-call-ems use the many highly trafficed squares and small parks to do their work. Try Union Square, Washington Square Park, Bryant Park, etc.
posted by skwm at 5:39 AM on May 4, 2006

I'd avoid Times Square like the plague, only because it is so crowded and crawling with tourists that it will be impossible to do your act and people will be annoyed because you are blocking traffic.

The MTA contends that it is illegal to beg on the subway but that is being litigated, I believe, but the cops may still harass you although I see people sing, busk, and praise Jesus every day.

On the street, people hand out fliers all the time near where I work, probably because it is near the UN. I think organized demonstrations require a permit. I am in no way a lawyer, but I have to believe even today, one person handing out leaflets, as long as he/she isn't engaging in commercial activity or blocking movement is OK.

PS
Not sure about what you mean by liberal democracy but instead of Union Square and Washington Square, where you might be preaching to the converted, you might consider trying downtown, especially on week-ends where a lot of tourists might be around Ground Zero. Lot's of tourists but not utterly packed, like in Times Square.
posted by xetere at 6:12 AM on May 4, 2006

I'd be wary of going too close to Ground Zero. That area is still a place of solemn reverence for some and attempting to work an angle in the viscinity is usually met with disapproval.

No permits are required as far as I know, but NYPD will probably give you a hard time if you're on the subway (if you see them at all). Think about who you're targeting with your message and pick an area to work in. I agree that places like The Village and Bryant Park might not be a good choice since Liberal Democracy flows like water from these areas. The Upper East Side and Upper West side, right around 110th street, are in transition now both culturally and socio-economically...you might think about those places.
posted by Smarson at 6:27 AM on May 4, 2006

What are the laws regarding handing out leaflets on the streets?

For the record, New Yorkers are very good at ignoring people with leaflets. You'll feel like you don't even exist.
posted by smackfu at 6:32 AM on May 4, 2006

I'm not sure you'll be very successful. But, hey, it's a free country (er, was), so do what's in your heart.

But you can hang out in Union Square.... You probably won't get hassled. But you also won't hand out many leaflets, other than to skaters and break dancers who need a piece of paper to wipe off their skinned elbows.
posted by zpousman at 6:43 AM on May 4, 2006

From Wikipedia:

"The city's political demographics are liberal and Democratic. 87% of registered voters in the city are Democrats."

So, um... why would you go to an overwhelmingly liberal city to try to "proselytize" liberal democratic principles?
posted by elisabeth r at 7:12 AM on May 4, 2006

The fence at Ground Zero now has big official-looking signs asking people to be respectful and not sell souvenir books and glass crap engraved with images of the Twin Towers stuff. I'd think the 'please be respectful' message applies to speech-makin' as well.
posted by hsoltz at 7:13 AM on May 4, 2006

smackfu is correct- people who live in New York City will walk by you so fast and not even look at you, let alone take your flier. I think your best bet is to go somewhere where there will be tourists who have the time to listen to you. Washington Square or Union Square are probably your best bet.

I can't believe I just said that. I work near Union Square; the last thing I want is more screaming politicos bothering me.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:23 AM on May 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

If you are really interested sharing the benefits of liberal democracy a better option might be to go either to Grand Central Station or Penn Station. Grand Central is probably the better of the two for the volume of people coming off the trains from the suburbs.

These folks tend to be much more conservative and may be a better audience. You could stand where people come off the plafforms and hand out your fliers.

Not sure what the rules are about solicitation there, so you might want to just ask the NYPD and/or get a permit of some kind.
posted by zia at 7:35 AM on May 4, 2006

I'd be wary of going too close to Ground Zero. That area is still a place of solemn reverence for some and attempting to work an angle in the viscinity is usually met with disapproval.

I was surprised at how shrine-like GZ felt when I visited last year. It was unnerving.
posted by craniac at 7:41 AM on May 4, 2006

What is it exactly you want to achieve? To enjoy youself practicing street performance, or actually persuade someone? If its the latter you'd probably be better off engaging people one on one at a bar, or some other social gathering.

If you expect to engage a crowd in New York you'd better do a pretty damn impressive moonwalk, or pull rabbits out of your ear.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:01 AM on May 4, 2006

>>If you are really interested sharing the benefits of liberal democracy a better option might be to go either to Grand Central Station or Penn Station. Grand Central is probably the better of the two for the volume of people coming off the trains from the suburbs.

As a resigned commuter for 6 previous years through penn station, trust me when i tell you that it's highly unlikely that anyone dashing off their train to work, or running to catch their train home will stop for a kid handing-out flyers.

In fact, they probabaly will forcefully push you out of the way...especially if NJT, LIRR or Amtrack is running late (highly likely). From experience, avoid trying to make a diversion in places where ny/nj/ct/pa/dc commuters gather. Also, Penn Station and Grand Central are crawling with cops.
posted by naxosaxur at 8:43 AM on May 4, 2006

What everybody said about flyers. New Yorkers don't take them, or if they do it's because they need a scrap of paper for some reason. I sometimes took them because I felt bad for whoever was handing them out, but they went straight into the next trash can. As was said above:

you'd probably be better off engaging people one on one at a bar, or some other social gathering.

Also, NYC is hardly the place that needs the Good News about Liberal Democracy. Try Texas.
posted by languagehat at 9:36 AM on May 4, 2006

Commuters into Manhattan via Grand Central and Penn Station are not necessarily more conservative, they just tend to have more money. (IMO.) Money or not, though, they will not stop to accept a flyer if they're trying to catch the 5:03 to Scarsdale. Instead they will, as someone already said, knock you down to get there.

Meatbomb, why focus on Manhattan? You could go to Staten Island, or to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, or Dyker Heights (also Brooklyn), which are some of the most conservative areas in NYC--at least that's my perception.
posted by scratch at 10:16 AM on May 4, 2006

One thing that leaflet-distributors in NYC seem to have down pretty well is the art of moving aside at the last second. I walk, they stand as if in my way, but slightly to the side, and extend an arm, holding a leaflet in hand, to block my path. I proceed as if they aren't there. Down to the last possible second, it seems as if they are going to let me run into them, and then I will have an excuse to punch them in the face, which is the outcome that I really want. But so far, they always move the arm and leaflet just in time to let me pass without any part of me touching any part of them. There was one exception, but the guy was actually facing the other way and didn't see me coming, so I decided that my merely plowing into him and knocking him off balance was good enough.

As someone who works in Times Square, despite my immediate and overwhelming hatred for you, I agree with others who have indicated that you should first figure out what the hell you're actually trying to do. Spreading the good news about liberal democracy (bulletin: there is only bad news on that front) and asking passersby for money are not the same thing, and I have trouble imagining how you would combine them. No doubt you could, but, well...don't.

Panhandling on subways is not legal, but it is done constantly by homeless people, despite the obvious low rate of return. However, it is only because those homeless people are so pathetic, and nobody on their way to or from work wants to risk getting their work clothes soiled by contact, that that particular breed of panhandler is usually left alone. But be warned: subways are pressure cookers of middle-class fury. If you get on one of them and start talking politics to strangers, and you are not shoeless and starving, then you are really asking for trouble.
posted by bingo at 12:26 PM on May 4, 2006

NOTE: The cops will be much more likely to hassle you if you use any form of amplification device (PA system, battery-powered megaphone, etc.). That is against the law unless you get a permit from the city.

Just standing somewhere and talking / playing music / handing stuff out? You'll probably be OK -- just ignored by the overwhelming majority of passers-by.

If you do something genuinely entertaining -- sing, play an instrument, dance, etc. -- and display real talent, you may get more attention, esp. if you're doing it on a subway platform or in a subway car, when people have nothing else to do but stand/sit there and look at you. You may make some money too. But straight-up proselytizing of any kind is generally seen as an annoyance.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:14 PM on May 4, 2006

NYPD's rules for handing out leaflets in the subway. It does not count as busking/performing (which is licensed).
posted by booksandlibretti at 1:41 PM on May 4, 2006

That area is still a place of solemn reverence for some and attempting to work an angle in the vicinity is usually met with disapproval.

Would it were so. Frankly, I'm surprised and dismayed by how many souvenirs are there to be hawked and how many tourists with statue of liberty hats and 9-11 T-shirts are taking pictures of themselves in front of Ground Zero. It *really* bothered me when I saw that four or five months after the event.

Perhaps others have a different experience and I don't work there, so it may be different on weekdays, but if the original posters intention is to do some leafleting, busking, convincing, the area around ground zero, perhaps not right in front of the pit, will give him exposure to persons who may not have heard his message and may be receptive to it.
posted by xetere at 9:36 AM on May 5, 2006