Monday, November 21, 2011

I need to find a place where...


Since protesters started to occupy Zucotti Park (aka Liberty Plaza), open spaces managed by private companies have started to be more wary of how these spaces can be used.  Recently, the managers of the open space in front of World Trade Center 7 posted some rules on park usage. 

Most of these rules make sense to retain the "quality of life" in the open space.  Prohibiting littering, stunts off the benches and noise seem to make sense.  No one wants to sit in a dirty, noisy park and run the risk of being slammed by a skateboarder or a stunt bicyclist.

The one rule that seems to be a bit strange is the prohibition of "using illegal drugs or alcohol".   First, publicly drinking alcohol from an open container is against the law in NYC.  Aside, from food service establishments with sidewalk tables, it makes sense to prohibit the use of alcoholic beverages in this public space.  Why would the use of illegal drugs be prohibited in THIS park?  Is there a park in NYC where the use of illegal drugs is allowed?  I cannot think of any.  If anyone knows of any park in NYC where the use of illegal drugs is NOT prohibited, please let me know.

I think that listing rules on park usage is a good idea, because some areas of the law are not clear.  I think littering is pretty clear, but it's re-emphasized her in these rules.  This park does have a fountain where kids like to run into during the summer months, so that rule makes sense.  Soliciting / panhandling is a quality of life issue and should be spelled out in this case.  Some things are just clearly against the law, like the use of ILLEGAL drugs.  Would a person who sits in a park and smokes marrjuna be surprised to be approached by law enforcement officers?  What would he say?  "I didn't know that smoking ILLEGAL drugs was prohibited in this park.  If I had known that this kind of behavior was frowned upon... "

Clearly, this is not over-legislation or over-regulation.  I do not know if there is even a word (or set of words) that would describe this case.  Maybe "overly cautious" comes to mind.


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