Photo by discarted

Today the Mayor’s office in New York City announced their new and improved rules governing filming activity in the city. Up until now, filmmakers and photographers have been shooting under rules that allowed for considerable harassment and scrutiny from law enforcement. And the city’s last effort, rules released last summer, were constricting to say the least, essentially requiring any group of two or more people taking photos on city property for more than 30 minutes to have a permit and insurance.

The new rules state, in part:

Permits will not be required for casual photographers, tourists, credentialed members of the media, or other members of the public who do not use vehicles or equipment or assert exclusive use of City property.

The NYC Photo Rights blog says:

Good News!!! Now if only the City of New York would agree to educate their police forces. That is really where the disconnect is. The city government can publish all the rules it wants but it means nothing if their police force continues to harass photographers. The track record of the NYPD in this respect is extremely poor.

Article from the AP via the International Herald Tribune.