Busker Busting

I just learned surfing through Flickr of an arrest of a well-known street performer that took place in New York, and it makes me mad.

Shamanic violinist Stephen Kaufman, known as "Thoth" to folks who visit Bethesda Terrace in New York's Central Park, and his assistant Zoe Harkin were both arrested less than two weeks ago for playing loud music in an area designated a "quiet zone" by the Central Park Conservancy.

Thoth has performed there - specifically, in the tunnel under Olmsted and Vaux Way leading to the plaza where the fountain is located - for many years, except for when the tunnel was being restored, he has never drawn ant complaints from anyone, as he is a popular busker there. But the Conservancy, in what many see as a bid to crack down on street musicians in the park, has decided that people go to Bethesda Terrace to enjoy piece and quiet, not to be entertained.

I've never gotten Thoth's act myself, especially his incense burning and wild costumes, but every time I'm at Bethesda Terrace when he's there, he's never been an annoyance to me. I've been able to enjoy the plaza and appreciate the tranquil ambiance whether he's performing there or not. Thoth has the right to perform there, as he's been doing for some time. If you don't want to tip him, don't. If you don't like his act, don't watch it. His rights to free expression are being severely violated.

Full disclosure requires me to state that I have several friends who are street performers themselves - six at last count - and so I have some bias here. Why shouldn't I? All street performers have a right to put their art out on the streets and squares of America's cities. Attempts to undermine this right have been going on for a long time, especially in New York, where buskers are at best regulated, at worst harassed and arrested. If they're going to go after Thoth, who's next?

I'm getting angry now. I may not get Thoth's act, but what I really don't get are the authorities in New York.