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Odd..."legitimate" advocates and Benepe mentions his pals at NYers for Parks, the rubber stamp for the administration, with Danny Meyer, the restauranteur of Union Square and Shake Shack on their board!

anarchy!?!?!?! willy-nilly!?!?!?! there ARE regulations but the parks department officers do not enforce those rules and regulations. why is that? if they KNEW what the rules and regulations were and actually DID their job, there would not be as much "congestion."

Why doesn't the Parks & Recreation Department set aside a few acres for marijuana and poppy cultivation and sale? Perhaps adjacent to the Hallett Wildlife Sanctuary, near the Duck Pond, or else possibly on an artificial island in the Reservoir? Neither would be an eyesore--indeed, poppies would be quite lovely--, neither would degrade the park's ecosystem in any way, and both would be real profit centers. Moreover, by permitting New Yorkers to buy local, we would be depriving the Taliban and the Mexican drug organizations of funds, thus striking a simultaneous blow on our enemies in the Wars on Terrorism and Drugs. All in all, this would certainly be a much more democratic use of park land than tennis bubbles for the rich, and more lucrative as well.

Adrian Benepe in describing what is being sold as first amendment protected art relies on using a yiddish term meaning little gift in a very negative way. I find that using a yiddish term in such a manner to be anti semetic and I am offended as a Jew. Tschotkes can cover lots of items including those that are not allowed to be sold in the parks without a permit. The artists and other First Amendment art vendors are selling either paintings, prints, photographs or sculptures. Legally it doesn't matter whether these items are mass produced or one of a kind, they have the same protection as a political pamphlet. Adrian Benepe refuses to accept that these individuals that he is talking about are the same as speakers protected by the First Amendment. Adrian Benepe should lose his job for not understanding the First Amendment and refusing to enforce the existing laws and park rules for the last 9 years.
Mitchell Neil Balmuth

And how does the "city" propose to enforce these proposed new restrictions on artists when they can't enforce the old rules that exist for artists and all other vendors? As the proposed allotted spaces for artists are on a first come, first served basis, is the NYPD and PEP going to station massive numbers of officers at all hours of the day to see who is first at the spaces? And what new massive system will need to be put in place for arrests, confiscation, court hearings, etc.
And where will all the 'displaced' artists go? to city streets? other parks? and round and round we go!

As an occasional vendor, I just want to clear up a few issues:
The parks police harass the artists all time issuing tickets, often with no grounds. There are rules in place for the artists, they cannot simply set up where ever they want, with fear of being issued a ticket.
The General Vendors licensing wait list has been closed for over a decade, with less than 900 in existence.
People not selling art, are simply not allowed to vend in the parks, unless they have legal loop hole. [Usually they do not, but I believe there are some protections for veterans]
The parks department sees artists as nuisances, and treats them as such, and make virtually no effort to protect or defend their interests.
Artists do not want that manufactured factory stuff sold next to their work.
Artists also add a lot to the local economy, because it costs quite a bit to go out there. They do not go out every day.
They favor beautiful and high traffic days. There is a problem with any philosophy that treats the public that they must pay to participate.
If they are vending, they still are expected to pax taxes and have to provide a Usage Tax Certificate.
No artist is getting rich out there, they are getting by, often trying to define there own sense of freedom, and keep working on those things they are passionate about.
There is a lot of crap out there, but a lot of creative stuff too. It comes with the territory.

When I first moved here I was sure that with all the parks in the area I'd be able to locate a convenient and well-maintained dog run. Unfortunately I've given up on Queens' dog runs and now pack my 25-lb dog into a carrier and take her on the subway to one of the runs in Manhattan. This is obviously not ideal since she hates being in that bag and I don't enjoy carrying her either. Last year I emailed the parks department to ask how I could get involved in improving the condition of the dog run at Doughboy Plaza in Sunnyside and/or establishing a new one in Astoria Park. (The tiny one in Sunnyside is in deplorable condition with a broken gate and no water source. Astoria Park, amazingly, has no dog run.) I was taken-aback by the response I got, which essentially said I should raise the money and then talk to them. Since when is it individuals' responsibility to raise money to maintain park facilities to an acceptable condition? Did it mean nothing that I had offered volunteer physical help? I would never expect the neighborhood's parents to raise money to fix a broken playground in a city park, rather I understand that all of our tax dollars go toward repairing it even though many of us don't have children using that playground. Why is it not the same for dog runs? And why are dog runs in Queens not automatically held to the same standard of maintenance as those in Manhattan?

wow, I have never heard such naked aggression from Benepe before. Are we seeing his true colors?
Defenidng the indefiensible by procaliming some commenters & critic legitimate and others... well who knows?
Stop commercializing the parks, stop ruining the ground with festival markets (put them on cement outside the lawn and planted areas), stop pretending the stuff sold there is "art" while the stuff sold independently is "chochkes". chipping away at public amenities to find ways to make a few cents is damaging our public space, our "commons," one bubble at a time.
Over a decade ago, when Brooklyn wasn't hip & cool, the Bklyn Botanic Garden converted its central Palm House (Court) to paid functions only, and so it remains. What a loss!

Vaux and Olmsted were opposed specifically to tennis in the park so to say that Vaux would approve is dead wrong. As I said before their philosophy was that parks should be a place for quiet contemplation of nature. How is Mr Benepe's vision of the park a contrast to our hectic lives? As it is I have to constantly look over my shoulder for fast approaching bicycles. Dumpings and sausages and cupcakes? That I'm sure Vaux would approve of.

I love the artists in and around the parks!
What I would wish is that only artists (as well as all free-speech protected activities/individuals) be encouraged and protected, and that this be for individuals who present their OWN creations, and not the guys who set up big displays of all copied work, where it is "same old same old" and not at all original. These folks, who seem to all be tentacles of one large business, do tend to take up a lot of room, and are not at all in the spirit on individual rights.

JACKSON HEIGHTS, THE MOST DENSELY POPULATED NEIGHBORHOOD IN ALL OF THE CITY, DOES NOT HAVE ONE SINGLE PUBLIC PARK. WHY? (AND TRAVERS PARK IS NOT A PARK, IT'S A PLAYGROUND FOR THE JH HISTORICAL DISTRICT.)

I find it a much more appealing and charming experience to see artists displaying their wares of various skill levels and artistic merit than to be confronted to a large white bubble. A bubble that has a much smaller audience. I was offended by Mr Benepe's dismissive labeling of "totchkes". That says volumes.

I would say most New Yorkers don't like the Holiday markets in the Parks. They cluttered up the Whitehall Street Ferry Terminal one year. You had to walk thru the shopping area to get to the door to board the ferry.

Will the bubble be white or tan/green to blend into background?
Will it allow ads on the bubble - and look like advertising blimp?

There you go... from Madison Square Park to Shake Shack Park.
Morningside Park to Hibachi Park.

Is WNYC now the mouthpiece for the Bloomberg administration?

NYers love the holiday vendor markets (such as at Union Square)? Nope, sorry, WRONG. I've lived near Union Square for 30 years, both before and since the holiday market there. I for one do NOT want that holiday mart. I want my park, not to be hustled to buy Xmas crap.

What about these JPMorgan Chase signs at the north end of Central Park, thanking them for helping clean up after the August 2009 wind storm – now going on 9 months ago. I go to the park to see squirrels and grass, and find it really offensive to have to endure corporate logos, especially those of an investment bank! Is nothing sacred?

We already pay taxes to fund the parks, why be taxed twice?

The Shake Shack is a service to the people of NY, really?

Mayor Bloomberg's administration and his commissioners are hell bent on gentrifying NYC to the point where no middle class or working class people can afford to live here.

This plan is crap, is concerned only with money, and will be a huge factor in the corrosion and destruction of the peace of Central Park. Keep "city officials" out of this; they have no idea what they are doing.

I agree with this caller!!!!!!! All that the Bloomberg Administration wants to do is make money off of public assets at the expense of us.

ALL of NY is crowded, please give me a break...and NY needs the revenue.

How about charging people who barbeque in the parks. Especially Morningside Park

The commission keeps saying this is a win win situation, yet glides over the fact that the park is a green space where the bubble in order to remain inflated will need power whether through a generator or through our existing grid in order to remain inflated, further the bubble will need to be heated.

So much for the greening of the City of New York. Will the Park commissioner be willing find Carbon Offsets in Department to put up the Bubble.

Ridiculous to be considering "congestion" in the instance..ridiculous!

FOR CHRIST'S SAKE LEAVE CENTRAL PARK ALONE. WE NEED PEACE, QUIET AND NATURE IN THE PARKS, NOT ALL THAT BOARDWALK CRAP AND LITTER PRODUCING NONSENSE.

Next thing you know they'll be selling naming rights to all parks and recreation centers...

Tennis bubbles? How incredibly crass. A park is supposed to be a park. It should be an escape from the density of buildings- a natural experience. Hey can you imagine how much we could bring in if we built an apartment building in the park? Olmstead was opposed to having lawn tennis in the parks- and that was even without a bubble junking up the landscape.

of course it was open to the neighborhood kids, there was no charge to play there...sounds like they are talking about something different now with this pay for play idea.

What is the current season?
From when to when?
Would this change?
I hope not.

How about charging a toll for cars driving through the park? I ride a bike through Central Park on my daily commute and an overwhelming majority of the cars I see are cabs or livery vehicles. If we are going to continue to allow commercial vehicles to use the park, shouldn't they contribute to its care and maintenance? Seems fair to me.

I am an artist, a knitter, a musician, and a children's teacher who works on Union Square. I have read the proposed Park rules for artists and strongly object to them. No new laws or rules are needed. The existing NYC vending laws and the existing Parks Department rules are not being enforced. If there is a problem with vending in Parks, it makes sense to use the existing laws and rules. These proposed rules favor non-First Amendment vending concessions, Holiday Markets, corporate promotions and Greenmarkets over the rights of First Amendment protected artists. I ask you to stop harassing the street artists of NYC and to not pass these proposed rules.

Furthermore, making it more difficult for artists to try to earn an honest living in New York goes against everything that being a New Yorker claims to be. If artists can't go to New York to make their living, where else can they go? To amend the old song... "If they can't make it here, they can't make it anywhere." By taking space away from artists to sell their work, you not only compromise individual's livelihood, but also the dreams and pure hootspa that this city was founded upon.

Please, do not pass these proposed rules.

There were "bubbles" when I grew up, I worked my first summer job there..it kept a good bit of kids off the streets during the summer. It was a controlled situation, I learned to play table hockey and tennis there. I still remember it as a positive experience.

Selling public property to private interests is becoming a staple of the Blooomberg administration ... what is next, the Brooklyn bridge?

This seems really short-sighted. You're providing a "public service" at a private cost. This is a rich mostly white activity. What about basketball? What about indoor activities for regular people?

Here's a way the Parks Dept. can save money: fire the tree trimmers. These yokels with chain saws obviously don't know what they are doing (unless they are killing trees on purpose to give themselves more work).

I'm sorry isn't there any concern over the environmental impact of these "bubbles"? They are not green in any way and exploit vast amounts of resources. Money isn't everything.

What about consessions revenue? Major parks like Central, Prospect and now the Highline retain their vendor revenue instead of pooling it into the larger Parks Department funds. Why isn't this mandatory? Couldn't it help fund other run down parks? Why must we keep cycling large amounts of money to big parks that are doing just fine while we are starving smaller neighborhood parks?

If the Parks Dept. need funding to run the people parks, let the Mayor, City Council,Borough presidents clawback their member item monies to all those so-called "non-profits" . They are only "Pay for Play" scams.
There would be millions to be put in our Parks. It's people's land not the polticians. The people own the Parks, not the special interests.

Every time Adrian Benepe is on this show I cringe. Mr. Lehrer refuses to have authoritative guests on his show to challenge his relentless spin. The purpose of WNYC should not be to act as a mouthpiece for the Parks Department.

The Bloomberg administration continues to treat our parks as cash cows while cutting the parks department budget. Of course by the time this interview is over Mr. Benepe will have been allowed to say whatever he wants with being properly challenged.

Commissioner Benepe sees himself as a real estate agent, trying to get the maximum price per square foot for all of our public parks. No one should be surprised that he wants First Amendment protected artists out of the parks to make way for more corporate owned vending concessions. He's even tried to eliminate the Union Square Greenmarket, founded by his father, Barry Benepe, to make room for more lucrative corporate promotions. He's the Parks Commissioner of Disney, Nike, Sony, Best Buy, Target and Chase Bank, not of the people of NYC.

I agree about the Randall's Island problems. And the huge tennis bubble they put there. They are trying to put a tennis bubble here at Queensboro Oval. Our community board rejected it. But the Parks Department insists on fighting us! Why? We want our ball fields, we don't want to take a bus to play on artificial turf in some other neighborhood.

Many efforts, mostly corrupt connections. Like the Randall's Island Theme Park that was scuttled finally, the people behind it gave hundreds of thousands to Giuliani's presidential campaign, yet Parks pushed for years for the project that would have alienated 26 acres. Condos in parks, the dumb amphitheater markowitz is pushing in brooklyn...restaurants taking up more and more space... The givaways to yankees did not increase revenue and left the children there without parks, and a film of astroturf on the roof of a parking garage is not a park! Let the drummers stay in the park too, they tried to get the drummers of prospect park to pay $1000 for a permit.... to drum! they have been doing it since before these people were born. same in marcus garvey park, too often this effort for "revenue" is really to foster gentrification.