Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says all permit decisions are based on the “impact on the functioning of the city,” not on the content of protesters’ shouts. “The vast majority of groups that come here will protest peacefully. We’re interested in facilitating it,” says Kelly. The NYPD has set an informal deadline of June 15 for permit requests, and says it won’t make decisions until then. (Boston police haven’t granted any of their 12 requests for the July Democratic convention yet, either, but they’re providing a large stage near the site for protesters.)
Thus far only one permit has been issued–by the Parks Department–for a concert a good subway ride away from Madison Square Garden, where the delegates will be cheering. “One has to wonder what sort of thinking is going to decide other permit applications,” says Christopher Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which has been negotiating with the city. The NYCLU, which is already suing over what it says were abusive tactics by police during last year’s antiwar protests, may have another fight on its hands.
