Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Police Scale Back Proposed Parade Rules
By
Garth Johnston
Published Aug 19, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Aug 19, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Whew. The Police seem to be scaling back their much stricter proposed regulations for events in which two or more people gather on the street. "They blinked" Christopher Dunn, an attorney for the New York Civil Liberties Union told Daily News.
While a newly written proposal is coming, they are "expected to eliminate any reference to sidewalk assembly," many people are celebrating victory today. The now-scrapped proposal would have required parade permits for gatherings of two or more people on the sidewalk that would might violate traffic laws. They also would have required parade permits for any group of 35 of more pedestrians, which would have made school trips a living nightmare. Because the proposed rules are now going to be rewritten the public meeting on the topic planned for next week has been scrapped - which means the public meeting over the Atlantic Rail Yards scheduled for the same time is going to be insane!
The changes came after a vocal outcry from the public and after the City Council met with NYPD officials earlier in the week. Claiming a victory for her crew, Council Speaker Quinn told the Times that "We are pleased the Police Department has withdrawn this proposal. We look forward to working with the administration to develop guidelines that address the need for the permitting of large groups, while also respecting New Yorkers’ right to gather freely.”
Of course, not everyone thinks the Council was very helpful in this. The ever charming civil rights lawyer Norman Siegal, who says this proves that "people power can beat police power," told the Times that “The City Council seems to have folded their tents when they should have been out there saying to the Police Department, ‘You cannot do that; that is us.’ It was a usurpation of the executive over the legislative branch, and the City Council seemed to let this happen.”
Photograph by skidder via Contribute.
Tagged
Atlantic Rail Yards
Christopher Dunn
city
City Council
civil rights
daily news
events
laws
new york
new york civil liberties union
new yorkers
news
News: NYC
nypd
parade
people
photos
police
police department
regulations
speaker quinn
the city
The City Council
The Police
traffic
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Gatorade recall affects drinks sold in New York and New Jersey
More than 122,000 cases are being recalled over undeclared food dyes.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 5, 2026 at 4:36 p.m. ET
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
The declaration is driven by rising case counts in rural areas and in neighboring Pennsylvania.
By
Caroline Lewis
News
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
The declaration is driven by rising case counts in rural areas and in neighboring Pennsylvania.
By
Caroline Lewis
NYPD detective forced to retire after false statements in Brooklyn investigation
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani faces pressure to forge ahead with plan to fix polluting South Bronx market
By
Elizabeth Kim
Dominican man who shot border patrol officer in NYC sentenced to 15 years in prison
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .