Short video clips submitted as part of testimony at the hearing are available via A4RNYC's YouTube account - you can click here, here, and here to see them.

Below is a press round-up.

11/27/06

New York Sun
Bar Association Criticizes Parade Permits Proposal
BY RUSSELL BERMAN

amNewYork
Hearing set on new NYPD parade rules

Council Member Tony Avella from district 19 in Queens is also asking the police to withdraw the current proposed rules:

"While I was pleased that the Department’s prior proposed amendments were rescinded, I believe that the new proposed rules are no more reasonable than the first. I understand the Department’s stated purpose of 'preserving the public peace and preventing obstructions of public streets and sidewalks', however the manner in which it seeks to achieve these goals is unreasonable and unduly burdens residents of this city.

One example I would offer is that of funeral processions of 10 or more vehicles proceeding more than two blocks, which often violate certain traffic laws by virtue of their need to navigate as a procession through city streets. It would be wholly unreasonable to require parade permits for such processions and it would create an administrative nightmare for the Department to manage this process.

Furthermore, I find it unreasonable to deny bicyclists the ability to engage in impromptu rides numbering more than 30 people regardless of whether they are engaging in any violation of traffic laws, rules or regulations.

I urge the Department to withdraw the proposed amendments and begin a dialog with all interested parties to come up with a proposed set of rules, which will promote public safety and protect and the rights of citizens to assemble"

The New York Civil Liberties Union today spoke out against the proposed new police public assembly rules:

The New York Civil Liberties Union today called on the New York City Police Department to abandon new rules the Department has proposed that would require small protest groups lawfully using public streets to obtain police permits. The NYCLU objections came in written comments filed today with the Police Department in anticipation of a public hearing scheduled for November 27.

"The last thing we need is for small protest groups lawfully using public streets to have to get a police permit or face arrest," said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Executive Director. "This proposal illustrates why the City Council and others must now consider fundamental reform of the parade-permit process."

The NYCLU, which regularly represents groups seeking parade permits, noted in its comments that it can be very difficult to obtain a parade permit from the Police Department... the newly proposed permit requirement would be an unjustifiable burden on free speech.

The comments also noted the NYCLU's concern that the proposal allowing the arrest of groups of ten or more when some individuals in those groups commit traffic infractions will mean that law-abiding and well-intended individuals may face arrest.

Full NYCLU Press Release is available HERE

You can read the NYCLU's letter to the NYPD HERE

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, an organization of more than 22,000 attorneys, has issued a 16 page statement on the NYPD's proposed Parade Permitting regulations which is highly critical of the proposal and calls for the City Council, and not the NYPD, to address the issue. The statement is to be presented at the public hearing on November 27th.

For a full copy of the full statement click HERE.

Addressing the proposed rules the statement proclaims that "if adopted, these revisions would impose dramatic new restrictions on peaceful protests and other public gatherings in New York City - means of expression that are a cornerstone of our democratic system...[T]he Association firmly believes that, given the importance of the issues presented, it is the responsibility of the City Council to define a parade and to establish the criteria for issuing parade permits. Such a critical determination should not be relegated to a rulemaking or ad hoc decision making by the New York City Police Department.

The Bar Association Statement contains a detailed description of the legal issues involved in parade permitting, and lists numerous examples of instances in which courts have ordered that permits be granted after they were denied by the police. Additionally the statement cites the Critical Mass bike rides as "a particularly glaring example of the failures of the existing parade regulations and the NYPD's implementation of them."

Council Members Gale Brewer, David Weprin, and Bill de Blasio, all have let Assemble For Rights NYC know that they oppose the proposed police rules.

Ms.Brewer sent along this message, "...the parade permit changes most recently proposed by the NYPD would still place an onerous responsibility on New Yorkers, compared with the original proposal. In effect, they might also discourage New Yorkers from using important physical and social alternative forms of transportation in going about their daily lives, for fear of violating the law."

And Mr.Weprin says, "The right to assemble is one of our oldest and most fundamental rights. No matter what your background, every person has the right to peacefully gather together in joint advocacy of a common cause. Any efforts to subvert this basic principle of liberty is a clear usurpation of the public's ability to enjoy the freedom with which our country was founded upon and sworn to uphold."

Council Member Brewer has also confirmed she will be able to testify at the NYPD's public hearing on November 27th.

ASSEMBLE FOR RIGHTS NYC OPPOSES NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly Restrictions on Political Speech in the Public Spaces

WHAT: Rally to voice opposition to recent New York Police Department proposals that would restrict public gatherings

WHO: Assemble for Rights NYC

DATE: Monday, November 27, 2006

TIME: 10AM to 11AM

WHERE: NYPD Headquarters, One Police Plaza

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has again proposed undue and constitutionally questionable limits on political speech in New York City. The proposal represents a narrow retreat from a similar proposition that NYPD withdrew two months ago after vociferous opposition from members of the City Council and the public.

The current proposal, which would prohibit public gatherings of as few as ten people who do not first apply for and obtain a permit from the police, will be the subject of public hearings at Police Headquarters on November 27th from 11am to 2pm.

Opposition to the proposal is lead by Assemble for Rights NYC, a coalition joined in this quest by City Council members Rose Mendez, Charles Barron, Letitia James, and Alan Gerson. Assemble for Rights represents a diversity of groups which support free speech or which directly use peaceful assembly either for political speech or recreation. The Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild, United for Peace and Justice, Housing Works, the Five Boro Bike Club, the New York City Bicycle Coalition, and the Birth Control Project are among the members of the coalition. (See www.assembleforrightsnyc.org for additional members.)

The public hearing is being held only because it is required by the city charter before the police can implement such rules. In an attempt to minimize public input the hearing is being held the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the middle of the work day.

Assemble for Rights NYC has denounced the Police hearing as a mockery of the democratic process, and will be holding a rally outside of One Police Plaza during the hearing to allow members of the public to gather and express their opposition to Police rulemaking without being forced to endure the indignity of asking the Police Commissioner to reconsider his own proposal from within NYPD headquarters.

City Council member Rosie Mendez stated, “New Yorkers should not have to compromise their right to free assembly for the sake of preserving the ‘public peace.’” and has stated her intention to attend the Police hearings. The prospect of elected representatives being forced to lobby the Police Commissioner as to how the law should be written has raised serious questions about the unchecked power of the NYPD.

The Assemble For Rights Coalition believes that only the New York City Council, as the elected legislative representatives of the people, have the authority to make laws affecting fundamental rights.

Assemble for Rights Director, Mark Taylor stated, “The most shocking thing about this is the City Council is letting the NYPD write the new parade permitting rules. Particularly because this is an area that deals with civil liberties, this is an area we need the New York City Police to be enforcing the rules, not to be writing the law.”

Members of Assemble For Rights NYC coalition will be available for comments before and after the hearing.

City Council member Melissa Mark Viverito has joined the list of Council members willing to stand up for civil liberties in New York City. Mark Viverito opposes NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly's attempt to enact new Parade Permitting rules for the City and will be attending the public hearing at One Police Plaza on November 27th to voice her opposition.

Mark Viverito represents district 8, which includes Manhattan Valley, East Harlem in Manhattan, and part of Mott Haven in the Bronx. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and worked for 1199 SEIU, New York's Health Care Union, before being elected in 2005. Her campaign platform included easier access to the electoral process and greater transparency in city government.

This morning Mark Taylor was interviewed on WBAI's Wake Up Call. The short 7 min interview, covers every reason why we believe the City Council should be making laws. You can download the podcast here.

The opposition to the new NYPD proposed Parade Permitting rules continues to grow as City Council member Charles Barron (42nd District, Brooklyn) has contacted the Assemble for Rights Coalition to communicate his opposition to the NYPD proposal.

Councilman Barron has expressed his opposition to having the NYPD re-write the city's parading rules.

Councilwoman Rosie Mendez issued a statement opposing the NYPD's new Parade Permitting rules proposal in her November 2006 E-newsletter. The statement mentioned that "New Yorkers should not have to compromise their right to free assembly for the sake of preserving the public peace." Medez also announced that she would attend the November 27th hearing at One Police Plaza to speak against the new rules.

Click "read more" to read her full statement.