NYC Bar Association Says New Rules for Parade Permits
Threaten Civil Liberties
City Bar Urges City Council to Act

The New York City Bar Association is urging the NYPD to withdraw a proposal that would require a parade permit for groups as small as 10 people who travel more than two city blocks without complying with traffic laws. The permit requirement would also apply to groups of 30 or more people who travel any distance together, whether or not they comply with traffic laws.

The “definition of ‘parade’ proposed by the NYPD is vague, overbroad and would unnecessarily interfere with legitimate rights of public assembly,” said the Association in testimony during a November 27 hearing on the rule proposal at One Police Plaza .

The new parade definition, the latest in a series of proposals, is seen as an outgrowth of the NYPD’s ongoing efforts to crackdown on the Friday night Critical Mass bike rides. In its rush to force Critical Mass riders to obtain permits before gathering, the NYPD has developed a definition of “parade” that -- argued the Association -- is so broad that it would reach hundreds of other kinds of “spontaneous public gatherings that serve valuable public purposes and do not endanger the public safety,” such as the gathering outside the Dakota apartment building that followed John Lennon’s death. Such a rule is “inconsistent with the First Amendment because it would destroy the spontaneity and enthusiasm which public demonstrations of this nature are meant to engender and chill a substantial amount of speech related to public events.”

Furthermore, said the Association, it is illogical to require all groups of 30 or more to obtain a permit in order to walk city streets. Under the regulations, school trips, church outings, and wedding and funeral processions would need to obtain a permit in advance or otherwise face arrest by the NYPD.

The Association also noted that the public safety issues associated with events, such as the Critical Mass rides, “can be addressed through enforcement of existing traffic regulations rather than by imposing daunting new permitting requirements.”

Given the difficult public policy issues and important civil liberties at stake in the city’s system of parade regulation, the Association called on the New York City Council “to clearly define what a ‘parade’ is and to establish specific criteria for issuing parade permits.” “[A]n issue of this magnitude,” said the Association, is properly “the responsibility of the City Council” rather than the NYPD, as the Council is a “more neutral and democratic body representing the interests of the entire community.”

About the Association
The New York City Bar Association (www.nycbar.org) was founded in 1870, and since then has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the profession, promoting reform of the law, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities.

back to top