law change was created by the ACLU,NY AG James and NYPD.
**PDF** of the potential law change.
Where an FAA temporarily blocks vehicular or pedestrian traffic or otherwise
obstructs public streets or sidewalks, the NYPD shall whenever possible accommodate the
demonstration. When necessary, NYPD may deploy patrol officers to reroute vehicular or
pedestrian traffic. These officers shall not be drawn from SRG and shall not carry equipment
associated exclusively with those units such as flex-cuffs. The NYPD shall dispatch no more patrol
officers than necessary, in light of the conditions present at the time, to address vehicular or
pedestrian traffic. Where an FAA is so large or occurs in such a manner as to obstruct access to
critical infrastructure, e.g., highways, bridges and tunnels, railways, subways, schools, hospitals,
and rerouting vehicular or pedestrian traffic is not adequate to address the obstruction, the NYPD
may use the above members of service to direct the FAA to another route or location. Before so
doing, protest liaisons shall endeavor to negotiate an alternative route or location with participants
in the FAA, when feasible.
weird to see cops asking for permission to let people break the law. Also weird the ACLU, whose own rules explicitly state it's not cool to detain others while flexing your constitutional rights.
cite (also a **PDF**If organizers have not obtained a permit, where can a march take place?
If marchers stay on the sidewalks and obey traffic and pedestrian signals, their
activity is constitutionally protected even without a permit. Marchers may be
required to allow enough space on the sidewalk for normal pedestrian traffic and
may not maliciously obstruct or detain passers-by.
May I distribute leaflets and other literature on public sidewalks?
Yes. You may approach pedestrians on public sidewalks with leaflets,
newspapers, petitions and solicitations for donations without a permit. Tables
may also be set up on sidewalks for these purposes if sufficient room is left for
pedestrians to pass. These types of free speech activities are legal as long as
entrances to buildings are not blocked and passers-by are not physically and
maliciously detained. However, a permit may be required to set up a table.
Do I have a right to picket on public sidewalks?
Yes, and this is also an activity for which a permit is not required. However,
picketing must be done in an orderly, non-disruptive fashion so that pedestrians
can pass by and entrances to buildings are not blocked.
Poll
