boston laws

[Juggalicious]

hey guys I've been hearing rumors about street performers getting some new laws passed in boston. Just wanted to see what people know about this? anyone want to maybe do some duo shows starting in september? If not - anyone want to meet up and hit some pitches solo - switch off back and forth.

-talk to you soon,
alex

[harmonicakev]

see previous thread(s)

Hey alex,
No new laws, just a court case in December "04; the city agreed to stop enforcing the old laws, and repealed some old laws this spring...

http://www.performers.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=32

that thread as well as one or two others covered the subject; haven't heard of any harassment lately...of course I also haven't heard of anyone trying to set up on Government Center plaza yet..and I guess there are issues with how some performers are treating their fellow buskers at the Sam Adams pitch...............
.......has anyone been working the Boston Common?
Ciao - Kev

[robtonto]

Alex and I were making balloons today in Boston Common when we were stopped by a park ranger. He said we couldn't work Boston Common, the Public Garden, and the perimeter unless we had a vendor's permit, available from the Boys and Girls Club of America. These are the same permits that the food vendors have. We made it clear we weren't selling the balloons, just working for tips, but he said we still needed a permit. Musicians seemed to be able to perform, but we couldn't.

[Stretch]

http://www.balloonhq.com/

You might try posting your experience at
http://www.balloonhq.com/ . They should know. Good luck. If the rangers are wrong in citing yu, perhaps you could suggest they get a job with FEMA.

[harmonicakev]

Originally posted by robtonto
Alex and I were making balloons today in Boston Common when we were stopped by a park ranger. He said we couldn't work Boston Common, the Public Garden, and the perimeter unless we had a vendor's permit, available from the Boys and Girls Club of America. .

Legal Representative: (for the continuing court case)

Perkins, Smith and Cohen, One Beacon Street, 30th Floor, Boston, MA 02108-3106

T: 617-854-4000 F: 617-854-4040

Attorney Jerry Cohen, P.C.; Attorney Stephen Chow; Attorney Barbara Green Whitbeck

They particularly need names/badge #'s of offending officers/rangers.

Ciao - Kevin M.

[harmonicakev]

the battle continues..

I guess there has been continuing harassment...

http://communityartsadvocates.org/saahistoryBoston.html#Oct2005

this link can take you to the contents of the most recent filing with the federal court in Boston....Ciao - Kev

[harmonicakev]

Deja vu!

Check out the front page of today's Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/01/a_rhythmic_rocking_cradle_of_liberty_no_more/

The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court in August of 2004....

https://www.buskersadvocates.org/saahistory/Boston.html#BostonLawSuit

[harmonicakev]

hmmm...

From this week's Boston Globe (newspaper, remember those?):

Welcome to the new Boston Common, which is expected to debut this summer. Crews will break ground next month on a long-awaited face lift for the shabby plaza surrounding Brewer Fountain near Tremont Street....

...The $1.5 million initiative will replace cracked concrete with granite, plant trees, and install a sprinkler system in Liberty Mall, the grassy expanse leading to the State House......

...The plans include some unusual touches. A “reading room’’ will be stocked with magazines, newspapers, and carts with 400 books.... And the piano — a professional-grade electric keyboard made to look like a piano on wheels — will offer lunchtime entertainment as early as July.

So apparently amplification (electric keyboard) on the Boston Common is permissible for SOME...but not others; I've been shut down for having an amplifier multiples times over several decades.

Ciao - Kev