Will Artists Be Pushed Out of the Park?

ByDon

How do you feel about all those artists who take up quite a bit of space selling their art at the southwest corner of Union Square Park. Here’s an article that says they may soon be squeezed into a smaller area:

The Parks Department has proposed new regulations that would drastically limit the number of artists allowed to sell their work in Union Square and other Manhattan parks.

The Parks Department claims the rules will decrease congestion, but critics accuse the city of pushing out independent street artists in order to replace them with more lucrative vendors.

The Parks Department declined to answer questions submitted by the NY Destinations Examiner .

A Parks Department spokesperson provided an email statement, much of which was excerpted from the Parks Department’s March 24 notice in The City Record .

” The dramatic increase in the number of expressive matter vendors on parkland has prompted the Parks Department to develop these rules in an effort to strike a balance between these vendors and other park users, and address other concerns related to maintaining and operating open space in an urban environment, ” reads the statement.

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