The hard working, slightly obnoxious mascots of Times Square are receiving a rare present from the NYPD this holiday season: a reprieve. According to the Daily News, the department dispatched a “length directive” to cops last month, instructing them to avoid ticketing costumed characters who aren’t breaking the law, as it’s probably not good PR to be giving summonses to Mickey Mouse and Elmo in front of tourists and their kids. Read more »
Since 1991, an eight-line poem by Norman Colp commenting on the miserable reality of the 9-5 commute has adorned the ceiling of the stuffy tunnel connecting Port Authority and a section of the Times Square subway complex. It was only supposed to be on display for a year, but the MTA eventually decided to just leave it up and this week, two college students decided to paper over the art and give it a more “optimistic” twist, prompting the wife of the artist, who passed away in 2007, to blast the alteration: Read more »
The Occupy Wall Street protest, which today enters day 31 and has now become a bonafide movement, had quite a weekend. Nearly 100 people were arrested in Manhattan in a string of demonstrations in Times Square, Washington Square Park and a Citibank branch. Wait, what? Read more »
NYC artist Andy Golub who’s been painting naked ladies in Times Square (and getting them overzealously arrested) will have the public exposure and lewdness charges against him dropped, providing he keeps his models’ g-strings on in the daytime. It’s “a compromise.” Boo! Read more »
A proposed $27 million redesign of Times Square’s growing pedestrian-only sections will separate “free-flowing walkways” for New Yorkers and central plazas for tourists, providing for “different speeds at which people can move” through the crowded hub. Read more »
The Wall Street Journal profiled several the costumed characters in Times Square and reports the most shocking of news: Most of them are illegal aliens from Mexico and South America. That’s right, even Mickey Mouse is an undocumented immigrant. Elmo too. And that’s wrong! Read more »
Because sometimes photos alone don’t really do a story justice, here’s some (slightly NSFW) video we shot of artist Andy Golub promoting himself free speech. As reported, this event was different than all the previous ones in that no one was arrested.
Tireless First Amendment crusader and NYPD irritant Andy Golub took to his old tricks once again in Times Square last night, painting up three completely nude women with his signature gradients and swirls in front of a gawking crowd. The cops were on the scene, but unlike last time, no hasty arrests were made. Read more »
ANIMAL caught up with Zoe West, the unrepentant 21-year-old actress who went fully nude in Times Square and was painted by local artist Andy Golub. She was hauled off by the cops, despite doing nothing illegal. The freedom of expression fighter talks about her interaction with “macho” cops during her wrongful arrest below. Read more »
Turns out the cops were not fans of Andy Golub painting on naked models in the middle of Times Square yesterday. Zoe West, 21, dropped dropped the g-string after all. Gasp! The model was arrested, clad only in neon body paint. Apparently, the cops weren’t informed that according to the New York State law, public nudity is not lewd if it’s part of a play, performance, exhibition or show. ANIMAL captured this footage of the brave, bare-breasted gal. Read more »
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