Unlawful Busting of Buskers
Addressing the Rights of Subway Performers
During his evening commute, Stason Bobo, 25, can be found singing and playing his guitar for fellow commuters on the F train. Bobo, along with thousands of other New Yorkers, is known as a “busker,” or someone who performs in public for money.
Although the laws around busking underground in New York City are fairly clear, they are often unknown or disregarded by both the buskers themselves and the Transit Police.
“Cops aren’t always right about the rules and regulations,” said Bobo.
An officer once confronted him about performing on the platform but could not give a specific answer as to why he had to leave. After Bobo asked an MTA employee about the rules, the police officer realized he was mistaken and told Bobo that he could continue playing.
“He was just misinformed,” said Bobo.
All performers have the right to perform underground without a permit from Music Under New York, the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s program that schedules musical performances in designated subway locations. However, the MTA’s Rules of Conduct prohibits freelance buskers from using amplification, soliciting for money, and performing on trains, near station booths and in public walking paths. Buskers affiliated with MUNY are given exclusive benefits like publicity, legitimacy, and reserved areas to perform in, which greatly lessens the likelihood of confrontations by the police.
Busk NY is an organization that advocates for the “legality of artistic performance in the New York City subway.” Since 2013, Busk NY has helped over 150 performers receive over $100,000 in court settlements.
Matthew Christian, the volunteer director of Busk NY, is one of the many people who have been arrested for busking underground. In 2011, Christian was playing his violin in a legal busking location when a police officer arrested him for not owning a performing permit, even though no such permit exists.
“[Getting arrested] compelled me to minimize the number of arrests that happen,” said Christian. He is happy to say that he is not aware of any arrests that have happened since the summer of 2014.
Alyssa Vandall, 21, is a busker who sings on the subway platform. While her experience as a busker in New York City has been positive overall, police officers have forced her to relocate for reasons unclear to her. After being told by an officer that sitting on the ground is prohibited, Vandall sought answers.
“I walked up to [a police officer] and asked the busking rules,” she said. “He said ‘You asked the right police officer. I’m actually one of the very few in this line of work who actually know these laws.”
Busking in the New York City subway was not always permitted. In 1985, a guitarist named Roger Manning took the city to court over a ticket he received for “entertaining subway passengers.” As a result, the New York City Transit Authority lifted the prohibition of entertainment in the subway but, in turn, banned the solicitation of money for entertainment. It wasn’t until 1989, after another legal battle led by a busker named Lloyd Carew-Reid, that the MTA permitted “artistic performance, including the acceptance of donations” in the subway.
Malcolm Kemp, a 22-year-old saxophonist who performs both on the street and underground, has also had mixed reactions to busking by the police.
“It just depends on the cop,” he said. “One time, a cop came up to me and everything was cool. Then two others came after him and said, ‘You gotta go!’ They couldn’t give me a valid reason why I had to move other than they were ‘given orders.’”
Kemp gave up performing at Times Square 42nd Street station because of the unwarranted ejections by the police. Now he plays at Atlantic Avenue station in Brooklyn.
“Atlantic is friendly,” he said. “[Police officers] are cool about [buskers] there. They even give me a dollar sometimes.”
Although Vandall believes that she was wrongly told to relocate, she said that not all police officers are out to get her.
“You can walk up to a police officer and ask them the questions,” she said. “That will make them respect you more too because you’re including them in your little bubble of reality.”
NYPD officers were unwilling to comment on their thoughts about subway performers.
The BUSK Stop: NYC provides a sneak peek into New York City’s vibrant busking scene. Fostering communication, collaboration, and networking.
