DUMBO — Proposed rules governing events in public plazas would limit the type of gatherings that could be organized, local business groups said.
The city’s Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO), part of the Mayor’s Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management (CECM), drafted the rules after the City Council called for a set of permitting guidelines for Department of Transportation-owned pedestrian plazas.
Local business leaders testified at a public hearing Monday, saying the proposed rules are too complicated and would prohibit smaller events like an outdoor yoga class or an impromptu appearance by a traveling artist.
“We’re concerned that the review framework is overly burdensome for plaza partners and will inhibit the local programming that our neighborhoods have come to know and enjoy,” said Ellen Baer, co-chairwoman of the NYC BID Association.
For small street events the deadline to submit applications, which is currently 10 days, will become 30 days under the proposed rules. The plan also calls for 30 to 90 days of advance notice to apply for a permit for larger events, depending on the size of the plaza and the type of event.
Business improvement district leaders said the proposed rules are unrealistic.
For the DUMBO BID, the new rules would scale back certain types of short-notice programming, said Alexandria Sica, the BID’s executive director.
Sica said some of the BID’s events, which take place at the Archway under the Manhattan Bridge or at the Old Fulton Plaza near the Brooklyn Bridge, come about due to spontaneous encounters with local or traveling artists.
“Last year a puppeteer named Ballenarca brought this giant whale puppet for free to the plaza, delighting hundreds of local children and creating a wonderful spectacle,” Sica said.
“As the artist was passing through New York we were able to take advantage of her willingness to do something good for our community, and we feel that those types of events should continue to happen.”
Phillip Kellogg, executive director of the Fulton Area Business Alliance in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, said the new deadline would keep his organization from hosting events like jazz concerts and student art showcases.
“Opportunities come up and we want to be nimble to taking advantage of them,” Kellogg said.
“The art-making activity called the Cardboard Challenge that a local school wanted to do at Putnam Triangle so the community could see the students’ work would not have happened with a 60-day deadline.”
Business leaders also protested the fees tied to the event permits, saying the costs are likely to discourage events run by local community groups with low budgets as opposed to larger, commercial events.
Permitting fees for events at a plaza that’s fewer than 10,000 square feet would run from $1,250 to $2,500 in Manhattan and from $1,000 to $2,000 in the outer boroughs depending on the size of the event. For larger plazas, fees could run anywhere from $1,000 to $31,000.
“We work with a lot of small startups that are scrappy, they have small budgets,” Sica said.
Other business groups said the fees are unnecessary because the city doesn’t provide any services in return.
“We have never seen any city services provided at any event at any of our plazas even though we know these fees are paid,” said Gerald Scup, vice president of the Garment District Alliance.
It wasn't clear when the new rules are slated to be implemented.
A spokeswoman for SAPO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
