Illegal Signs and a Reporter’s Broken Camera

signsThe first sign poster I encountered on Friday evening, March 14,
was stapling Rocko signs to a lamppost at Broadway and 22nd Street. (Photos: David W. Dunlap/The New York Times)

The takeover of public space for commercial promotion may be offensive, but it is usually legal. Occasionally, however, it is not. On Friday, March 14, it bordered on the criminal.

That’s where I come in. I was the victim.

As a Times reporter, I tend to focus quickly on illegal marketing campaigns. Microsoft, for instance, once slathered Manhattan in butterfly decals, only to retreat apologetically a day later. The Museum of Arts and Design briefly blanketed its Columbus Circle building with a billboard for “The Da Vinci Code,” until learning it was illegal. An H & R Block sign on Ninth Avenue seemed to show that a company familiar with the tax code doesn’t necessarily understand the administrative code. And don’t get me started on the floating Dirtpile.com billboard.

So I sensed a story on the evening of the 14th, when I came across two or three young men stapling posters for a new hip-hop album to lampposts, traffic signs and sidewalk scaffolding on Broadway, between 21st and 22nd Streets.

“Rocko / Self Made / You Just Do You … Umma Do Me / In Stores 03.18.08,” each red and black poster said.

It is unlawful, the city’s administrative code says, for anyone to “attach or affix by any means whatsoever any handbill, poster, notice, sign” on lampposts, traffic signs and sign poles or “other such item or structure in any street.”

signsThe sign-hanging team would place stacks of posters in wastebaskets at the street corners, then draw from that supply to cover nearby street fixtures.

I began photographing the poster operation. After about two minutes, one man asked me why I was taking pictures. “Because what you’re doing is illegal,” I replied.

He answered, “Breaking cameras is illegal, too, but if you don’t stop taking pictures, I’ll break your camera.” He modified “camera” with an adjective I am not permitted to repeat here. I identified myself as a reporter from The Times. “I’ll break your camera,” he said, using that adjective again, “and you can print that in your paper.”

I distinctly remember thinking, “No, I can’t.” Then, rather than antagonize him further, I started taking pictures of the poster-covered scaffold pipes across Broadway.

The approach came so swiftly, I cannot even say whether it was from in front or behind. But I do remember a furious face inches away from mine as the man said he had warned me not to take any more pictures.

The next few minutes are — as they say — a blur. I was suddenly on my back on the sidewalk, near the curb, trying to hold on to my camera and fend off my assailant, with my right leg pressed against his chest.

I defer here to the eyewitnesses. The first is from a 32-year-old student who works in film production. Requesting anonymity, he sent me this e-mail account:

I turned around and saw you falling backwards, raising your arms to defend yourself from the lad who was grappling with you. The kid was shouting something like, ‘Didn’t I tell you!’ From where I stood, it looked like he was pummeling you with his fists. I pulled out my cellphone with the intention of taking some video (for evidence, not for YouTube) but in the few seconds it took me to do that he had yanked your camera free and I remember the way he raised it up over his head before smashing it into the street. After smashing the camera, I remember him walking toward me while tearing up your notebook (don’t remember how/when he got his hands on that). He passed me, I saw you on the ground (uncertain how badly you might have been hurt) and that’s when I called 911.

Frank Zannino, 47, a senior software developer at an investment bank, recalled:

I saw the perp try to grab the camera from the victim, tugging and pushing until the victim fell on the sidewalk, still trying to hang onto his camera, until finally the perp got it away from the victim, pulled off a piece from the camera and threw the piece and camera violently to the pavement.

Bob Makarowski, a 50-year-old technology instructor, heard loud, abrasive and “definitely adversarial” yelling:

When I looked across Broadway, I saw someone slouching. A few seconds later I heard more yelling and then I saw two things flying across Broadway. Upon closer inspection I saw that one of the devices was a lens, which I picked up. The other device was a camera, which someone else had picked up. I asked them to give it to me and then I went across the street to give it back to whomever the owner was.

signsOn some lampposts, more than one poster was attached.

The student said he saw the man get into a car, which Mr. Zannino identified as a silver compact with New Jersey plates. Mr. Makarowski handed me my Nikon D40 camera and lens. Separately.

I held my breath as I opened a small panel on side of the camera. The memory card was still snugly installed. My pictures, at least, were safe.

My injuries were minor. A finger of my right hand was numb for a while, but I have since regained feeling. I have a four-inch-long bruise on my right knee. That seems to be it.

The police came quickly, though not in time to arrest anyone. I filed a complaint. The responding officer characterized the events as “criminal mischief” — intentionally damaging someone else’s property. It can be a misdemeanor or a felony.

I’m not inclined to press charges. While my assailant’s actions were frightening, they resulted in part from what he interpreted as provocation: that is, my taking pictures after he had explicitly warned me not to. He did not take my wallet, cash or briefcase; something he could easily have done while I was on the ground. Nor do I recall him using much more force than was needed to wrest the camera from me. He didn’t kick me gratuitously when I was down. He did what he threatened to do, but no more.

In the greater scheme of things, my quarrel isn’t with him, anyway. It’s with the suits who made the decision in the first place to undertake an illegal marketing campaign.

Who are they?

signsThis young man demanded I stop taking his picture while he was affixing signs. A couple of eyewitnesses identified him as the man who attacked me moments later and wrecked my camera. But it all happened too
quickly and at too close a range for me to be absolutely certain.

Rocko’s label, Island Def Jam, said through a spokesman that it had “ceased this type of postering some time ago and had nothing to do with what transpired here.” Island Def Jam Music Group is part of the Universal Music Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi.

Rocko’s management company is Emanon Musiq Management of Atlanta. (“No name,” spelled backward.) I left a telephone message and sent an e-mail inquiry on Thursday. On Friday, a woman answering the phone at Emanon said the people I needed to talk to were “out of the office this week” and that she had forwarded my messages.

I am still awaiting a return call.

As my agitation subsides, my gratitude grows; first, of course, for the fact that I was not seriously injured, then for the fact that so many strangers came forward to help me that night. The student, for instance, retrieved the shreds of my notebook and stayed until a friend of mine arrived on the scene to collect me. I asked why they had bothered.

“Because it was right to do so,” Mr. Zannino said. “Wish I could have done more.”

Here’s what Mr. Makarowski said:

Having been the victim of numerous crimes and injustices, I vowed to myself to always do whatever I could to prevent and/or stop crime and injustice wherever it occurred. (Jeez, David, I sound like a hand-wringing liberal!) Anyway, I guess this comes back to my personal philosophy of trying to improve the world, help people and, in general, raise the general ethic level of society.

And the student seemed to understand what moved me to take these pictures in the first place. “While I’m a fan of certain forms of ‘street art,’ (i.e., Banksy and his ilk),” he said, “I can’t stand the abuse of public space for advertising purposes, especially when it’s sanctioned by big corporations.”

signsThis was the last picture I took with my Nikon D40. Moments later, the camera and lens were in the street. And I was flat on my back on the sidewalk.

Update: More than 200 readers commented on this below, and dozens objected strongly to my saying that I was not inclined to press charges. Perhaps I did not make it clear enough that the point is moot in any event. No one has been arrested or identified as a suspect by the police. Given the minor nature of the incident and my own reluctance to advance the matter, the police have effectively closed the case.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

David – So sorry to hear you went down against Island Def Jam. Really loved your slide show on Chase Plaza last week too! And am taking up this post to tell you that it was great. Especially enjoyed the top down shot of the rotunda and the shot inside DR’s office, not to mention the shot of the tower of 40 North Wall from the 60th Floor.

Here’s an interesting tidbit for the Times, if a lay person tries to take photos inside Chase Plaza during normal business hours the guards at Chase will shoo them away and threaten to have them arrested by the police and their camera confiscated, claiming it is not permitted (Homeland Securit?!) . Ironically, during non-business hours, when Chase is paying for lighter staffing, photographers can shoot away to their heart’s content. Not the same as being mugged and having your camera broken by a fellow however indirectly working in the name of Def Jam, but still not something that leaves a good flavor in one’s mouth. It’s something about having the streets of New York privatized for our protection and corporate enjoyment. The NYC Dept. of Sanitation used to issue violations for street postings, I don’t know if they still do, but undoubtedly their Public Affairs Office could let us all know if they still mail out summonses to the posters of unauthorized advertising when a traceable company is posted, such as in this case, Island Def Jam.

You declined to press charges?
What are you thinking?

If this perpetrator is arrested he will learn a lesson.
You are the victim of a CRIME!
You were within your rights to take images.

Only by standing up to criminals will justice be served and criminals stopped. If this individual acts out again, it may be a second, third, or fourth attack, and a more violent assault. If you would participate in prosecuting this perpetrator you may save someone from a more violent attack.

Declining to participate in the prosecution of a violent crime is socially irresponsible.

I understand it is a personal decision, but I would hope that you would press charges. Very often people cannot press charges because they lack evidence or witnesses – you lack neither. You were acting within your legal rights to take photos on a public street and I don’t think the perp deserves “credit” because you supposedly provoked him. I really take issue with any criminal who interferes with a person who is simply in the process of carrying out his profession in the public service, as you were doing and as you indicated to him.

I am going to go out on a limb here and venture that the lyrics to that “new hip-hop album” are not about peace, love and understanding.

Not only did he not press charges, he gave these people more press than they could’ve ever hoped for. I’d laugh (or cry) if this whole story was a corporate plant. If he was a victim, why not blur out the album title and anonymize other relevant information?

Hey — I’m guessing that might be a pretty expensive piece of glass he broke. You deserve to be reimbursed, especially since your livelihood depends on it. So what if the guy told you he would do what he did if you didn’t stop? Would he be justified in killing you if that’s what he said he would do? Nope.

You HAVE TO press charges. If you do not, this man will learn that there are no consequences for assaulting someone. How will you feel when he assaults someone else because you did not press charges? You will be responsible for the future assaults that will surely happen if you do not press charges.

I strongly believe you need to press charges. You have witnesses, an id on the car. This person thinks he can assault anyone who doesn’t do what he says?! He’s a danger to society and he needs to experience some consequences. How did you get to the place where you think you provoked him? That’s blame the victim mentality.

I have to agree with the prior two posters who urged you to press charges. Although I suppose that the light this article in the times sheds on the matter may have more impact on the record/promotion companies who put those posters up than having someone who may or not be linked to them directly fined or arrested. As to the matter of you provoking him, I think you’re way off base. You were doing something which was well within your rights, and just because he threatened you beforehand doesn’t mean that you were under any obligation to stop taking photos.

I agree with Melissa and Jim. If you don’t prosecute then you contribute to this type of behavior. Besides what makes these guys think that they can dictate who can and can’t take pictures in a public space much less assault you from behind.

I had a similar situation in Seattle where I was taking a picture of the Space Needle in an early morning snow storm. A man told me I couldn’t take pictures there (on a public sidewalk) and when I said I could began to threaten me and walk towards me. I stood my ground and said I was calling the cops and he left, but I was prepared to fight and I would suggest that anyone else be ready to also. Public doesn’t mean safe

If you really want to find the source of this illegal nuisance activity, why not press charges? Put these criminals on the stand and they will give up the information. Why you would apologize for being assaulted is beyond me.

Let me just say that I sympathize with you, your cause and I agree that these kinds of ads ruin the landscape (and so do the Times Square ads). You’re still using The Times for your own cause. A regular person with no powers such as yours would not have the support of a community. So while the corporations are breaking our laws, I think you’re abusing your power here.
That said, you have the right to speak freely and I’m not trying to shut you up, but I still think using a popular newspaper/website for your own gain is not a worthy cause. Sorry.

Great story, great detail, a real grabber, but cease risking life and limb!

This type of thuggery is disgusting.
This intimidation should be fought with all legal means, including pressing charges of assault and battery.

As they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Surely, the NYT Web site is better real estate than a few poles at the intersection of Broadway and 22nd.

Last time I checked, it is quite legal to take photos in public. If this “gentle”man did not want his picture taken, he should not have been out in public. I don’t think what you did was provocation — do us all a favor and press charges!

Also — Why wait 10 days to post this?

I’m so sorry this happened to you, but WHY in heaven’s name would you not press charges against someone who assaulted you? Do you really think this kid was following orders by beating you up and destroying your property? And if he was, doesn’t that make it even worse?

If you don’t prosecute, what do you think this kid will do to the next photographer — kick his teeth in?

Stand up!

Interesting how people accept CCTV cameras everywhere with no humans attached. But any time a human with a camera appears in public, there are guaranteed to be suspicious stares and questions – whether or not anyone is in the process of an illegal activity.

Someone who would violently push another person to the ground and tear his property away from him only to smash it to bits has a criminal mindset. This is not the first crime he has committed and it won’t be his last.

I have been the victim of sexual perverts on the subway numerous times. The first time I sought out the conductor and then the police who both told me if the perp got off the train there was nothing they could do. If I ever have evidence of a perverted act, I will certainly press charges, in the hopes I am protecting his next victim.

Yeah! Down with thuggism. Press charges.

You were lucky. The next guy )or gal) he loses his temper at may not be. This country is being grauitously saturated with violence. I had may shirt torn off and a chest bruise for taking a photo at a condo pool where I lived.
Aloha,
Ted

I think you should have stopped taking photos. People need to understand that “rights” only matter in a courtroom and not on the streets of NY in the night. Use your head next time and start taking photos of something worthy of a story. You didn’t need to take photos of the signs going up because they look the same in the daylight. He was wrong to attack you but he’s getting paid 10 bucks to put up posters so cut the guy some slack and leave him alone. If he gets arrested for doing the posters fine but you got what he had insisted was coming.

Listen, this is new york. When someone asks you not to take pictures of them, regardless of what they’re doing, you stop. Use your head, street smarts kids. He hit you after he told you he would, he didn’t want to hurt you, he just didn’t want to get bagged for what he was doing. He put up some damn posters, so be it. He isn’t a violent man, he is just a man. Any man would react that way and you should learn your lesson not to mess with people on the street in New York City

You aren’t going to press charges because they only beat you a little? Please explain how this makes sense.

You were just the victim of a violent crime – not pressing charges is unacceptable. Forget about assuaging your own uber-liberal guilt, think about the welfare of the next person who crosses paths with this violent indivdual.

I think I’m angrier at you than the thug…

To add to the string of commentators urging you to press charges – I think that to some degree, you have an obligation to press charges. (I know that sounds unfair, and it is, because it is the result of an unfair – & unjust – act.) As a citizen, you have the same obligation to do what you can to stop the perpetrator as any witness to a violent crime does to report what he or she saw to the police. There’s a reason that when criminals are prosecuted it’s not john doe v. james doe: it’s the people v. james doe; society has an interest in the prosecution of the case.

This will probably entail a fair amount of time & possibly expense as you testify, etc, and it sucks that you have to do it. But at the end of the day, the guy putting up posters is a violent person who will quite possibly do this again.
While the record companies were doing something illegal in getting the posters put up, they probably don’t countenance assault. The actions taken by the poster-er were the result of his own perverted sense of what’s acceptable, and it’s important that he be punished for his actions.