Who to contact for a tripod permit in NYC

[johnnydc]

I've heard that there is such a thing as a "tripod permit" in NYC, but my search of the nyc.gov pages hasn't turned up anything. Does anyone know who/where to contact to get one of these? I'm not a pro or anything, but I do alot of shooting in New York and I think it's at least worth looking in to. Thanks.

[Frank Petronio]

Send $75 to my office for Upstate New York. I think David Goldfarb is handling the city these days. But if you can't reach David, Mr. Bloomberg can still hook you up:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/permits/permit_download.shtml

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/index/index.shtml

Of course you still have to pay the usual street gangs and thugs. Be careful... :)

I think if you use common sense and avoid trying to set up on a busy sidewalk at rush hour you get away with it for the typical 5-10 minute outdoor shoot. But it all depends...

[Rafael Garcia]

Wow! I guess I am a country bumpkin! A permit to set up a tripod?!

[GPS]

Once I saw a young man trying to set up a tripod to take the very original picture of the tall narrow skyscraper down on the Broadway... He didn't even open the tripod and already had a policeman visiting him. "Do you have a permit...?" It was a no no from both sides after.
On the other hand, once I went in Bronx with my tripod in a tripod case, getting plenty of admiring attention from those guys on street, some meaningful smiles too. They thought I had a gun in it and was brave enough to go public. I never took the pictures from that park when I noticed it was the local drug shop... Speak about bravery.

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you want to shoot in midtown or downtown or on a busy sidewalk, you should get a permit. If you're in the Battery Park area or in the downtown parks along the river, you'll likely get some attention from the park police, who will usually let you go once you've established that you're not doing commercial work, but it doesn't hurt to have a permit. In Central Park you're okay without a permit--lots of commercial and non-commercial shooters there all the time, as well as bird photographers. In Grand Central Terminal, ask the Station Master for a tripod permit, which will let you shoot between rush hours. Above about 96th St. in Manhattan or in the other boroughs, you usually can get away without a permit, if it's just a camera and a tripod and no other lighting equipment (and even then, I've seen lots of small scale fashion shoots and low budget film shoots going on, probably without permits).

[Michael N. Meyer]

David's comments are right on. I just want to add that the permits are location and day specific. There isn't a permit that lets you shoot anywhere anytime forever; they don't work that way. You'll need to specify where you're planning to shoot, the day you'll be shooting and the approximate time--though you can put multiple locations/days on one request. Though it's easy enough to get one, if it isn't a commercial shoot or a busy location I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Just thank your lucky stars you don't want to do a shoot in Jersey City or Hoboken.

[Pete Watkins]

Land of the free........my arse. We don't need permits in public places in the U.K. Who trained your city authorities, the Russians?
Pete.

[GPS]

I think you don't need it in Moscow either...

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you trip on the sidewalk in London, can you sue the city?

In New York the permit thing is all about liability. You used to have to show proof of insurance for a permit, but they've loosened up that requirement in the last few years. Now you just have to release the city from liability.

They're also making it harder to sue the city for accidents. Now property owners are responsible for the sidewalks in front of their property. Just a few years ago and for many years before that, the city was responsible, so long as someone reported a flaw in the sidewalk before the accident. As it happened, personal injury lawyers grouped together and sent people out to inspect every sidewalk in the city of New York and compiled a thick book annually listing all the flaws and cracks in city sidewalks, and gave the city a copy of the report as a "public service." There was no way for the city to keep up with all that sidewalk repair. If you were injured on one of those cracks, you had a case, and such cases cost the city millions of dollars a year.

[GPS]

If you trip on the sidewalk in London, can you sue the city?

A sign of the true freedom?!

[John Powers]

Land of the free........my arse. We don't need permits in public places in the U.K. Who trained your city authorities, the Russians?
Pete.

That is because you are on the government's candid camera ALL the time. You don't need a permit because they know where you are, where you were, and have a pretty good idea where you will be. "Land of the free........my arse." Sure glad we have a good example. Anyone for a tea party?

John

[Pete Watkins]

The only cameras where I live are speed cameras and I can always wear a veil, if its good enough for the immigrants, legal or otherwise, it's good enough for me.
Never mind tea parties either, you just threw your rattles out of the pram in a fit of childish temper. We left out of choice and you all started fighting each other. Matty Brady recorded all this on a camera of English design, probably with British lenses. From what I've heard you might have just as well thrown the tea in the harbour anyway 'cos you have no idea how to brew the stuff.
Pete.

[cyrus]

Actually, I've looked into this. Permits are required by the city for the use of tripods. The park service requires its own permits too. The reason, ostensibly, is because tripods interfere with pedestrian traffic. Since they require permits of all photographers who use tripods, it is what we call a "content-neutral" regulation, and therefore not a violation of your First Amendment free speech rights. Gettign a permit is relatively painless - simply fill out a form and fax it. The city responds with an "approved" stamp via fax the same day - though they'll make sure to tell you to stay off of park property.

In reality, of course, few policemen bother enforcing the rules as long as you're not obviously interfering with pedestrian traffic.

[johnnydc]

If you want to shoot in midtown or downtown or on a busy sidewalk, you should get a permit.

Thanks for the links and the advice. I appreciate it.

[Ron Marshall]

Land of the free........my arse. We don't need permits in public places in the U.K. Who trained your city authorities, the Russians?
Pete.

Don't forget the UK official secrets act. Print anything your government cares to deem secret and it's off to prison.

[Donald Qualls]

Don't forget the UK official secrets act. Print anything your government cares to deem secret and it's off to prison.

Which is different on what way from the secret portions of the Patriot Act? At least the Brits have a list of what they aren't allowed to print; here, we aren't even allowed to see laws we're none the less required to comply with. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" will stand up as a legal principle just until a really competent lawyer argues a case based on those portions of the Patriot Act...

[Ted Chambers]

Just thank your lucky stars you don't want to do a shoot in Jersey City or Hoboken.

I've set up a number of times along the waterfront in Hoboken. Should I have been getting a permit?

[paulr]

for my money, the best subway permit is train fare to brooklyn. or to downtown ... lower east side, east village, tribecca, etc. ... the areas i hang out most of the time anyway. in eleven years, i've never been stopped. the only place i've even heard of a permit was this message board!

[Mark Sampson]

I've made photographs on the streets of New York, using a view camera and a tripod, on an occasional basis since about 1984. I've never been hassled by anyone, official or unofficial, about it. A good friend of mine is a location manager for television commercial production, and thus knows every inch of the commercial filming permit process. He's often accompanied me on these shoots and the question of a permit has never even come up, at least for a public area. The only trouble I ever had was once in the Hoboken NJ train station, where a bored guard decided to make some trouble for me. NJ not NY!

[cyrus]

Hoboken is not part of NYC and so the laws of New Jersey apply there. Officially, photography is NOT permitted in the Path subway & train system that connects New Jersey and New York - even though photography is permitted in the NY subway system. Taking photos in the Hoboken train depot usually means getting hassled by the guards (There's a placard with this and other rules of the Path system posted somewhere...)

[Terence McDonagh]

I've had good luck talking to the station master and the police first in the NJ Transit station (Hoboken Trerminal). NJ Transit now has a policy specifically allowing photography in public areas of their stations, but the tripods seem to be at the NJ Transit Police' discretion.

PATH is a whole other world. I once went and got a permit from them but the hassle wasn't worth it to me to ever do again.

In NYC, if I'm planning to be in an area that's like to have ANY real crowd I'll file for the free permit. I've only been "hassled" twice and both times had a permit. The cops were very polite. Often times cops are interested and stop and ask if they can take a look at the ground glass.

I have been hassled in the NYC subway (never even tried a tripod, as I knew they were verboten), but a polite discussion has usually resolved the matter. I've only lost the battle twice, when I didn't have time to really make an issue of it.

My advice, if you can, get a permit and get it with fairly general locations. It's free, anyway. And if you're in a "grey" area, politely let any police, etc. know what you are doing. Don't ask them, as this opens the door for them to say "no." Just say, "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be photographing blah blah blah. It's non-commercial. Just a hobby, etc."

[picsareus]

Wow, I can't believe that you really need a permit for NYC. I can see that it makes some sense if you are shooting a movie of some kind where you would have a whole crew, lighting equipment, and enough people and stuff to basically block pedestrian traffic. But to need one for setting up a tripod for 15 minutes? Doesn't make sense.

But I do believe the stories of people shooting without permits since the cops must have so much more to worry about in the big city, other than some guy with a tripod, such as robberies, crime, car accidents, bums hasseling people, crazy homeless people...etc.

But it does make sense to get one if its that easy....

[Scott Page]

For any new people finding this thread. A permit is no longer required as of Oct, 2007 for use of a tripod unless you are doing a big production. The new rules are posted online.

[Ron Marshall]

For any new people finding this thread. A permit is no longer required as of Oct, 2007 for use of a tripod unless you are doing a big production. The new rules are posted online.

About time!

[Jim C.]

The link -

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news/important_info_permits.shtml

[Ron Marshall]

Optional Permits

When a permit is not required, it is possible to apply for an optional permit. A person wishing to apply for an optional permit would present much of the same documentation as someone seeking a required permit (e.g. request for dates, times and locations and contact information). Liability insurance is not required in connection with an optional permit. Sometimes there has been confusion as to whether or not a permit is required. As a result, and as an accommodation to filmmakers, MOFTB has routinely issued permits in those instances where a permit is not required. The rules are consistent with this longstanding practice. The optional permit remains free of charge.