As some of you are already aware, last summer was a bad one for buskers in Boston who work near Fanueil Hall. Word came down from the mayor's office, and starting early August police were sent every morning to Sam Adams Square to harrass and severly restrict the scene there. I know, I was there, and I have it on video.

Thankfully the attention was focused mainly on the square; not all of Boston was affected. But trouble like this always starts small, and if no one steps up this year, then no one can be surprised if 3 seasons later the entire city is off limits. Sadly, this exact blueprint has played out many times over the past 10 years all over the US.

So I am suing. The briefs were (finally) filed last week in federal court, and my attorney is very excited at our prospects. (I haven't written about this before now because I was waiting for the filing.)

I'll keep our community posted as things progress.

Heavy!

I just found out I had a rel;ative in Boston (well just nort of) - so was goig to come over some time (hopefully free accomodation) and check out all the buskers ---- hopefully you will allow that to continue! Then I just gota work on my wife!

When yuou say "to harrass and severly restrict the scene there" do you mean like physically and arrest or what - not that I want details but I'm just wondering.

Also what you suin for? Breech of the 239000222922 amendment? - sorry there are just so many of them I can never keep track (sorry I'm just joking about my ignorance - NOT your great country! - I say great I may mean rubbish in 4 seasons if you aint allowed to busk there!)

The mayor of Boston complained about the bucket drummers and things just escalated.

Thanks for the effort.

All the best Chance. We need more buskers like you around. fight the good fight, down with the man and all that good stuff!!!

Peace

Faulkner

Good luck with it. That takes balls.

-=tabman

Dave, that would be the First Amendment...Robert Turley won in NYC so there's no reason Chance doesn't have a serious shot, too, especially with Steven Baird sitting right there....

The Great (or Mr Zoobini)


Please as we have gone serious what is the specific part of the 1st ammendment is it that "gives you the right" (please don't thke that the wrong way - I am just asking) to busk within the first ammendment to busk? Just interested.

Dave

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Busking is an assembly of people to hear the busker's speech. Any law that prohibits such assembly or speech is unconstitutional. The Courts have on numerous occasions ruled that street performance is "protected free speech".



I wish you all the luck with this case Chance and look forward to the outcome. I do worry that the courts are not as friendly as they once were, with Bush weeding out liberal judges and prosecutors.

-JoeJoe

I see where you are coming from (assuming this is the line Chance is taking?)

And if it don't work bear arms and shoot the bleeding politiicians!

Hey Chance, I think, for a second, you should eat a little bit of your own `advice/criticism' here. "Why doesn't the city want you/others?" (Night Post)

I think it probably has more to do with "performers" abusing the pitch,.. then wanting to restrict freedom of speech.,.. just a hunch.

gallagher

"Why doesn't the city want you....."

You mean they have a choice? Sorry to disappoint. But even if they did (they don't), criminalizing the pitch in the manner they (the mayor) chose was total overkill.... AND THEY KNOW IT. Boston city has already lost this fight in court, and the case was settled just 3 or 4 years ago. This is still new and fresh, not some 30-year-old case that no one remembers. THEY LOST. And the abuse the courts sided against is exactly the abuse rekindled last summer. Same city, same mayor, same abuse. Back then they had a different set of excuses; this year it's a bucket drummer or a dance group. Do you really think they care? Any excuse will do so long as they get the desired result, that of keeping those few select streets pristine for the buskers at Quincy Market.

The mayor has shown extreme disregard for buskers, and the closer we work to Quincy Market, even more so. (And for the record, Quincy market is NOT private property, people. It's just as public as you could ever wish for.)

If the city has an HONEST and LEGAL objection to a certain type of act, there are well-established legal proceedures they can always choose to pursue. Criminalizing 40 at once is not one of them.

Boston is the absolute center of our American Revolution. Every one of our founding fathers walked the streets of Boston and Cambridge, and every one of them risked all that they had so that the rest of us may now live in the freest country in the world. Sam Adams Square, the pitch now under fire, is named after the man who instigated the Boston Tea Party from inside Fanueil Hall for crying out loud! His cousin John Adams became our 2nd president! Benjamin Franklin was born just 10 blocks away. It's disgusting beyond words that we have to even discuss this, much less live it, in the shadow of such selflessness and greatness.

I live in San Antonio and when I busk it's by permission at the Mercado, one of the few places in town we can busk. It took me a while to get good info on the law here. As I explored downtown San Antonio and saw many good spots, there were almost never any buskers, I figured there was a reason. I was right. While the city respects my constitutional right to free speech and therefore allows me to perform as an expression of that right, if I try in any way to hat or have a tip jar out or in any way solicit tips I will be quickly shut down and slapped with a hefty fine ($500.) They don't offer a permit. They do enforce. There are tons of cops around the good foot traffic areas, so they're hard to avoid. I'm glad I have a permitted pitch, but there are areas that would be SO MUCH better, but I'd be doing it for the occasional tip shoved surreptitiously into my hand by the occasional passerby who gets it. Oh, and as an expression of my right to free speech.

That is illegal of them - you have as much right to solicit a tip as a politician has to solicit a campaign contribution. They can only legally regulate the time, place, and manner in the least restrictive way possible.

In fact, Chicago and Orlando have both been sued by homeless advocacy groups about their no-solicitation laws and have been court-ordered to establish "free speech zones" where pan handlers are allowed to ask for money.

It's always been my line of thinking that the best way to protect busking is to go after these no-solicitation laws, as there are no laws against doing magic tricks ... they don't care if we do a show, they just don't want us passing the hat afterwords.

-JoeJoe

I appreciate your comments, but please open another thread so we can keep this one just about Boston. Thanks for understanding.

But I don't want you to go away empty handed, so let me leave you with this: None of what you just described in any way fits the correct definiton of Free Speech -- as it relates to busking or anything else for that matter. It's not free because it is cost free (and therefore we are going against the 1st Amendment by taking tips). No, it is free as in freely expressed without hindrance or censorship from our elected officials. That's the meaning of "free" in free speech. In fact, a little research in your local university law library will tell you that it's actually PERMITTED by federal statute to receive payment for a Free Speech activity. Think about it: Do artists, poets, newspapers, magazines, preachers or politicians get paid for their Free Speech work? Sure they do! So why not us too?

That's just it, we can. It's already accepted federal law. But since you didn't know that you couldn't possibly come prepared to that meeting. I've lost track of the number of times I've seen public officials change course after slapping down a few pages of laws on their desk. Try it some time, it feels really good!

Oops, JJ and I just cross posted....

Thanks Chance, I'll respect the thread. I do understand the difference between 'free' meaning without charge and the bigger idea of FREE as in freely expressed. I think they understand the difference down at city hall too. The person to whom I spoke was intelligent and friendly, she was just telling me the policy. It took some effort to find someone who knew the policy. I'm guessing the beat cops don't know it. They just don't want busking so they draw that line, whether they are legally allowed to do so or not. Until someone is willing to challenge them on it and do the homework to follow through on it, I'm risking a fine I can't afford to pay. That's a battle for another day, maybe another guy. I'll stick to the permitted pitch for now.

I don't really know the history, but am not surprised that buskers are looked down on, many people think buskers are bums with a gimmick. I can also see wanting to control what goes on in Faneuil Hall/Quincy Marketplace, large crowds sometimes require it.

I never liked the bucket drummers and the break-dancers, not because I dislike what they are doing (sometimes it is very entertaining), but the volume of the "music" is sometimes defening and they don't want to relent. Perhaps the solution is to limit the sound level, equip the Boston Police with a SPL meter and have them run off people at large volume.

I would hate to create another bureaocracy, but maybe a permit system like that in Cambridge would help things. I suspect that bucket drummers won't bother with permits and would be easy to deal with.

The problem at this pitch, where Chance is speaking of; is there was no longer a chance for anyone to have `freedom of speach'!,.. it was so loudly over played by over-amplified breakdancers and bucket-beaters. The city tried logically talking with the "artists", but `Freedom of Speach' was constantly thrown up in their face. The final desiscion to shut it down has to do with noise levels.
True freedoms are only earned thru respect.

Humans are the only animals whom pinkel in their own drinking water,... Buskers are the only Artists whom excreciate on their only stages.

life's still a mystery to me,...even without magicians!
gallagher

Once again for the slow readers here: If any individual, busker or not, is breaking a law, any law, such as a noise and/or crowd control ordinance, there are laws already in place to handle such situations. Break a law, get a fine. I'm cool with that. Get 3 or 4 small fines, get a much bigger one. I'm cool with that too. But this whole, you're too loud (or too black) so we're going to ban all 40 of you at once... nope, not cool with that at all.

Sounds like they're trying to run all the street performers out of town.

-=tabman