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Residents Object to New Limits on Vendors in Battery Park

By Julie Shapiro | May 6, 2010 5:22pm | Updated on May 7, 2010 3:23pm
Rapten Lhawon sells photographs in Battery Park and said he and other vendors make the park safer.
Rapten Lhawon sells photographs in Battery Park and said he and other vendors make the park safer.
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DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

By Julie Shapiro

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Vendors aren’t the only ones who think the city’s new rules for Battery Park are too extreme.

Several members of Community Board 1 objected Wednesday night to the proposed regulations, which would cut the number of art and photo vendors in Battery Park from more than 100 to nine.

“It seems like a dramatic cutback,” said Bill Love, a CB1 member who belongs to the American Civil Liberties Union. 

The vendors are protected by the First Amendment to sell “expressive matter,” including books and artwork, in public space, Love said.

But the city Parks Department argues the vendors are creating a hazard by clogging the park’s paths. The city also wants to limit the number of vendors in Union Square, the High Line and other parks.

Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy, said the vendors are a nuisance.
Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy, said the vendors are a nuisance.
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DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

Hundreds of vendors protested the city’s plans last month. The Parks Department may make changes in response but has not committed to do so.

Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy, said the vendors trample the gardens and make it impossible for the public to enjoy the park.

“It’s out of control,” she said. “It’s totally untenable the way it is now.”

The vendors, though, say they are a help, not a hindrance.

“We’re here, we’re vigilant, we’re here for the people,” said Rapten Lhawon, 31, who has been selling souvenir photos in Battery Park for four years.

Lhawon said he dials 911 when elderly tourists get sick in the summer, and he carries them to the shade until the ambulance arrives.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised several vendors as heroes this week after they alerted police to the smoking SUV in Times Square.

Lisa Chen, 32, said it would be hard to find another place to vend if she were forced out of Battery Park.
Lisa Chen, 32, said it would be hard to find another place to vend if she were forced out of Battery Park.
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DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

Ro Sheffe, chairperson of CB1’s Financial District Committee, hopes the Parks Department will allow more than nine First Amendment vendors to remain in Battery Park.

He and others proposed a compromise: Bar the art vendors from the crowded paths near the water, but allow them to set up along the park’s perimeter instead.