The MTA is backing off their position re photography in and about the transit system. Their representation that photography is illegal has been used to intimidate photographers on more than one occasion. There was not law, there is no law that makes photography illegal.
Catherine Rinaldi, general counsel and deputy executive director for MTA, conceded in a March letter to photographers that there is “no ban on photography in the Long Island Railroad or the Metro North Transit system.†The concession came after NYCLU attorneys wrote to MTA demanding that they explain why MTA officers were threatening photographers with arrest for taking pictures in public areas of the transit system.
About six months ago the MTA board rejected an MTA Public Affairs proposed law that would have made it illegal for anyone (except press photographers carrying New York City press cards) to take photographs within the MTA public transportation system. The Public Affairs office, led by Tom Kelly, claimed that photographers were “endangering themselves and the public,†and that some riders “didn’t want to be photographed in the public transit system†despite it being a public place. Public complaints on the proposed ban, along with a concerted effort by NPPA, NYPPA, and NYCLU to oppose the restriction, resulted in MTA withdrawing the proposal and standing down.
