NYC subway performers told to sit down

NYC subway performers: The New York Police Department is cracking down on the subway showmen who use the tight quarters of the nation's busiest transit system as moving stages for impromptu — and illegal — pass-the-hat performances. 

|
Bebeto Matthews/AP
Acrobatic dancer Nasir Malave dances on a subway train in New York. The New York Police Department is cracking down on the subway showmen who use the tight quarters of the nation’s busiest transit system as moving stages for impromptu, and illegal, pass-the-hat performances.

The underground acrobats who flip, somersault and pole-dance among New York City subway riders as trains roll are drawing a new audience — police officers.

The New York Police Department is cracking down on the subway showmen who use the tight quarters of the nation's busiest transit system as moving stages for impromptu — and illegal — pass-the-hat performances. More than 240 people have been arrested on misdemeanors related to acrobatics so far this year, compared with fewer than 40 at this time a year ago.

Police Commissioner William Bratton acknowledges he is targeting subway acrobats as part of his embrace of the "broken windows" theory of policing — that low-grade lawlessness can cultivate a greater sense of disorder and embolden more dangerous offenders.

"Is it a significant crime? Certainly not," Bratton said recently. But the question is, he added, "Does it have the potential both for creating a level of fear as well as a level of risk that you want to deal with?"

The subway acrobats say they're just out to entertain, make a living and put a little communal levity in New York's no-eye-contact commuting.

"We all, as New Yorkers, get these force fields around us. We just try to go inside the train and change the vibe," said a performernamed Besnkheru, who, because of the crackdown, spoke on the condition that his full name not be used.

Hopping on and off trains one recent afternoon, Besnkheru sang to amplified recordings ranging from Michael Jackson to Latin jazz while his performance partner, Domingo, danced, clowned and used the car's bars and poles like playground equipment. Sometimes, he dangled upside down with his head within a foot or two of a rider's face.

The pair got some glares but many smiles — some from passengers who initially seemed determined not to look — and several dollars.

"It's such a part of New York culture," said rider Joli Tribuzio, an actress.

But other passengers resent becoming a captive audience for acrobats and break-dancers in a cramped subway car.

"I don't like all that action right in front of my face," rider Kesia Hudson said.

Police believe most riders agree with Hudson. And though no injuries have been reported, they also insist the showmanship is a safety issue.

"If the dancers make a mistake, someone could get hurt," said Chief Joseph Fox, head of the NYPD's Transit Bureau. "The dancers themselves could get hurt."

Police have responded by studying passenger complaints to determine when and where to put plainclothes officers on trains to nab acrobats.

The arrests are usually uneventful but can turn nasty. An acrobat who was being arrested spit on one officer and tried to bite another.

"No matter how you look at it, it's dangerous," Fox said. "It's dangerous for us, too."

Two decades ago during Bratton's previous stint as commissioner, his "broken windows" crackdowns targeted public drinking, panhandling and most notably the squeegee men who sprang out at intersections to wash the windshields. This time, the department has targeted illegal motorcycles, graffiti — and the acrobats.

Andrew "Goofy" Saunders and some friends started doing routines on trains in 2007, hoping to make $10 to enter a dance competition. Seven years later, the group — W.A.F.F.L.E., for We Are Family For Life Entertainment — has a shoe-brand sponsor and has been booked for music videos, parties, even a wedding.

"We're not just knuckleheads. ... We're actually about something," said Saunders, 20.

But the roughly 12-person troupe has largely stopped performing on subways because of the police attention. Members now hope to line up a public space to flip with permission.

"There's no reason for being locked up for doing what you love," Saunders said.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to NYC subway performers told to sit down
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0703/NYC-subway-performers-told-to-sit-down
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe