Camera Ban for NYC Subways?
I spent a good chunk of my morning with a film crew who is doing a documentary on the blackout for Court TV/New York Times TV. We met at the 34th Street station, which is where I boarded the Q the day I got stuck on the subway during the blackout. While we were there, an MTA guy was hanging around, making sure the cameraman didn't step too close to the edge of the platform. So they interview me on the subway, having me tell my blackout story as the train rolls along. More than two hours later -- even longer than my actual subway blackout experience -- we're finishing up near the Atlantic Avenue station when two NYPD cops approach. They order the cameraman to stop shooting, but the producer explains they have permission from the MTA. So the cops ask for the permit, but the producer explains the MTA no longer gives written permission, but she offers up the phone number of the MTA contact person who approved the filming. The cop doesn't want the number. He says that if they don't have a permit, they have to stop filming.

Apparently this is a new rule, "because of what happened yesterday," the cop says.

"What happened yesterday," I ask.

"Madrid," the cop answers.

So they filmed the last bits outside the Atlantic Avenue subway exit - which conveniently was the exit I eventually used after I was evacuated out the subway tunnel in the blackout.

However, I now have my Treo 600 in my purse now, so of course I took pictures of the film crew on the subway and had sent them to this Web site via Buzznet when the train was aboveground. And I even took a picture of the cop throwing us off the train. I thought he said no cameras of any kind are allowed on the subways now, but all three of the film crew folks said they thought he said a regular camera is OK. So I don't know what the deal is. Besides, the MTA guy who was with us in the morning obviously had no problem with the camera shooting video footage -- he just didn't want anyone standing in the yellow zone.

And while I understand the inclination to ban cameras in certain places for security purposes, there needs to be some logic to it. For example, there are signs as you enter the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel that say you can't take pictures. But you don't really need to, since you can just look at the picture on the Port Authority's Web site. Or check out their Web cams of all the city's bridges and tunnels.
- posted by Amy @ 3/11/2004 02:33:00 PM