City makes City Hall parking for press vehicles;
Press Photographers thank officials for their help
City Hall is again press friendly as city officials have designated a large stretch of Park Row that had been historically a parking area for visiting photographers.

In June, press photographers were hit with surprise summonses for parking along Park Row, which is one of the few places for press to park and be able to cover events at City Hall. The ban made covering events in and around City Hall difficult, if not impossible to properly cover.

While members of the media still covered major breaking events at City Hall, officials found that lesser events, especially those of the City were suffering as a result of the ban.

The ticketing of press vehicles began after some members of the media wrote stories and
took photos of illegal parking by police officers, members of the Courts and officials from
city government.

The National Press Photographers Association Region 2 has and continues to condemn these stories as counter productive to solving parking issues in the city and inconsequential to the real issues of city congestion. We also found that instead of punishing the alleged illegal parking, the city instead took aim at members of the media – including ticket and towing vehicles while on the job in areas where they were allowed to operate and park.

We thank the city for the wise decision and continue to support official efforts to ease congestion in other ways other than picking on those government officials that we in the media work closely with every day.

World Trade Center Workers Comp Deadline extended until 2012 for all
If you covered the attack at the World Trade Center or were present at the Trade Center site as a journalist any time afterwards the deadline to file with the New York State Worker’s Compensation Board has been extended to 2012.  We encourage all journalists, whether injured or not, whether currently exhibiting signs of injury now or not,  to document their being on the site on 9.11.01 or
AT ANY TIME AFTERWARDS by filling out this form, having it notarized and returning it.
You can get the form online at http://www.wcb.state.ny.us/content/main/forms/WTC-12.pdf

The results of the health survey by David Handschuh and the NYPPA indicates that journalist emotional and physical injury is equal to or greater than that of rescue workers.   Protect yourself and fill out the WTC-12 and then take a few minutes and take the WTC Journalist Health survey online at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Cmwse_2bA9MO5Ix4FOqYsCXg_3d_3d

The results will be used to lobby officials for proper  journalist  health coverage as a result of our exposure at the WTC. If you have any questions, feel free to email David at h2photo@optonline.net or
call me at 646 872 5421.

Remote camera? Please tell authorities you are using it
One of our photographers placed a remote camera under the steps of a local precinct during a perp walk. He ended up having his press card taken when Lt. Whyte decided that the camera resembled a “suspicious device.” Whether we agree with this or not, it is incumbent upon us not to put any remote cameras in places where it may cause alarm without letting police know you are doing it.

The NYC Department of Film and Movies produced what has been viewed as a good set of rules concerning filming in New York City. We now believe those new rules will work favorably for photographers everywhere and reflect an understanding by the city that freedom of the press and the rights of citizens to take photos is also a major right in our society. Our a ttorneys believe the new rules are favorable to a free and unfettered press and even amateur photographers.
NYPPA held their exhibit opening on July 17 at the Forbes Gallery. The Gallery is open five days a week and may be viewed till the end of the month of August.

Problems with clip contest has been resolved and results will be released shortly. Unfortunately, with every new process, there are problems. We have worked hard to resolve them and results will be published on R2 and on the NPPA website. Look at the new listings for clip contest and you will see your images posted.

College campus movie making? No access without permission: One photographer found out that being on campus at Brooklyn College didn’t mean that he had permission to be there. Even though he gave security the slip, campus security and PIO officials asked him to leave during the filming of Gossip Girl.  Our attorney NPPA Mickey Osterreicher commented thus:
“I would have to see the by-laws/charter of the college/university. It would take a bot of research but before doing all of that I think I would make the analogy of a movie being filmed on a NYC street. Certainly the street and sidewalk are public but when a production crew gets a permit to film (back to our friends at MOFTB, it changes the dynamic where people are no longer permitted to park, pedestrians are no longer permitted to walk and the press is restricted. I would guess that this is what is happening here. Had the photographer been barred for no reason I think we would have another case.”

Many college campuses that have closed in campuses consider those areas to be private, even though they are considered city and state universities. We invite further comment from our membership.

Audio, video is your defense: A videographer working at a recent pin job, encountered police who began pushing and acting badly. Unfortunately, the videographer didn’t have his press ID on him at the time. The same police also threatened to confiscate cameras from civilians, something that is grossly illegal and improper. A video was made of this incident and was given to the precinct community affairs officer and commander. Those officers were shown the video and community affairs officers determined that officers did not approach the photographers properly. Internal discipline and meetings were held subsequent to this incident in which police were instructed in the proper behavior with the media and public. We at NPPA believe that some incidents can be resolved on a local precinct level.

Pushing, shoving and bad behavior by photographers and police is investigated by our organization. See it all at the Sept. 8 meeting.

Our transit trip to Boston gets local photo support
By Hugh Christopher Henry
ACLU & NPPA member
Last weekend, our transit enthusiasts' group spent a four-day weekend in Boston seeing the city sights and photographing Boston's mass-transit system.  The pleasure we had and the courtesy we were shown by MBTA employees and supervision would have been unheard of a year or more ago. 

A lot of folks deserve credit for this...the NPPA, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and a number of very concerned and very vocal local photographers for bringing about this change.  

And the MBTA is to be commended for coming up with a rational and reasonable photo policy that no sane and reasonable person could find fault with.  Let's hope this new wave of common sense continues to infiltrate the rest of his great nation.

BTW, MBTA Boston has one great transit system!

September Calendar Items
Dinner meeting of NPPA-NYPPA - Monday, September 8, 7 p.m.
Members of both orgs get a discount
$10 for member of either organization, $7 if member of both – cash bar and good raffle.  Bring cash or check.  Late dues will be accepted for both organizations.

Join your fellow photographers for an evening of food, drink and vital information that will help you in your daily efforts to be successful in an industry that continues to get tougher all the time.

Find out what your organizations are doing for you and why it is more important now more than ever to be a part of the NYPPA and the NPPA.
As part of the evening, a brief  presentation will be conducted as both instructional and help to plan strategy in dealing peacefully with authorities in the metropolitan area.
All attendees get a copy of the NYPPA Year in Pictures book for 2008.

We will be getting some great raffle prizes!

YOU MUST RSVP THIS EVENT! Please RSVP at www.rsvp@nyppa.org ASAP (AS the place only holds 100 people.  THE TIME IS 7-10 pm.  Seating is limited so you must RSVP by Wednesday September 3. The dinner is from 7pm until 10pm.   Unfortuantely, last minute "drop-in" will not be accommodated.  For all last minute people, If you find that you can attend you may contact Betsy (office Manager of NYPPA ) at 917-836-1447 by Friday September the 5th.  She will know the head count and if we have any seats left, will try to get you a seat.  NO WALK-INS.  PLEASE RSVP to rsvp@nyppa.org.  
We  still have seats remaining so please RSVP.

Contest
Public transportation photo Contest invites photos here
The American Public Transportation Association is hosting its Ninth Annual Public Transportation: Wherever Life Takes You Photo Invitational. We're looking for photos from APTA members that not only depict public transportation's significance in value, but also demonstrate how it ensures that freedom of movement is available to everyone. See http://www.apta.com/services/photo/ for application and further info. From creating more livable communities, providing access to commuters, older Americans, persons with disabilities and youth, or helping reduce pollution and conserve energy--public transportation is a great story. And with your pictures, it's an even better one.They are looking for a variety of photos of diverse individuals traveling on public transportation to or from work, medical appointments, school, events, or countless other destinations, in addition to public transportation construction, expansions, and TOD making communities more livable.The winning photos should capture human emotion and illustrate how people or communities -- all using public transportation -- benefit. We are looking to show people using public transportation, not the vehicles. DEADLINE OCTOBER 10, 2008 Send entries to: Photo Invitational, c/o APTA 1666 K St., N.W. Washington, DC 20006 For more information, contact Mark Neuville at mneuville@apta.com or 202-496-4821

Just think, if we had not battled the MTA’s idea to ban photography in our transit system, those entering this contest would be criminals.  One comment from a member “This certainly is good news. Now, I wonder if the security folks at Maryland's MTA and Atlanta's MARTA will have a litter of kittens over it? Also the small Maybe this is diabolical. Get those pesky railfans out with their cameras and nail 'em and jail 'em for violating the Patrot Act. That'll stop those PITA photos of safety and maintenance lapses from appearing all over the web once and for all.” - RES