The "Disneyfication" of Times Square

According to the Times Square Alliance, more than 50 costumed characters  work in Times Square. The crossroads of the world has become "family-friendly" with the presence of buskers dressed as cartoon/movie characters soliciting tips from tourists who pose for photos with them. However, there were some isolated incidents involving bad behavior by some of these costumed characters that regulation is being proposed. 

"Super Mario groped the woman," says Times Square Alliance president Tim Tompkins. "Elmo was ranting anti-Semitic things. Spider-Man punched a woman in the face. Now a kid was attacked by Cookie Monster. And those are just ones where there's been an arrest! We've anecdotally heard there's a lot more that's been happening. One of my staff members said an Elmo patted her backside when she was walking through Times Square on a crowded day." 

Posing with Tourists for a "Donation" in Times Square

Roaming Times Square, the top tourist attraction in the United States are street performers, buskers, as well as men and women wearing costumes of popular TV and movie characters. Pictured above are some of these costumed individuals who pose with tourists for a "donation." Some people question whether these costumed characters break the law and dilute the brands of companies like Disney and Sesame Street.

Bethesda Terrace Arcade, Not Just A Passage

A family of singers using the beautiful arcade as backdrop for their performance

Wedding photoshoot at the arcade

Central Park's Bethesda Terrace Arcade has always been a perfect setting for a wedding photoshoot or musical performance by buskers. The arcade is one of the few formal architectural features of the park, across from the Bethesda Fountain and under 72nd Street as it crosses Central Park. The restoration of the arcade was completed three years ago. The arcade features a rare Minton-tile ceiling that has 49 panels, each with 324 tiles. The arcade was designed in the mid 1860s by Calvert Vaux and his assistant Jacob Wrey Mould with tiles made by the Minton Company of Stoke-on-Trent, England. 

The Busker in Green, "The Ego and the Id"

Last Sunday, we spotted a busker in green, sitting on one of the "stools" of the public art display called "The Ego And The Id" by internationally acclaimed artist FRANZ WEST.  Donning an all green sparkly suit, green hat, sunglasses and gloves, oversized gold bow tie, gold shoes and cane, (with green donation box), the busker looked like he's part of the colorful artwork, the newest and largest aluminum sculpture of West to date. The sculpture is about 20 feet high, consisting of two similar but distinct, brightly colored, looping abstract forms, one bubble gum pink and the other alternating blocks of blue, green, orange, and yellow. Each of the forms curve up at the bottom creating stools that invite passersby to stop, take a seat, and directly engage with the artwork. The sculpture is located at the Doris Freedman Plaza near the entrance to Central Park, and will be on display until August 23.

Street Performers

Street performers are found everywhere in the city. They seek their audience, perform their art, and pass the hat for donations. These are some of the buskers who performed near the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall subway station last April 17.

SAX AND THE CITY

While strolling in Central Park one Sunday morning, I took a photo of a saxophone player, one of the many street performers/musicians at the park. In many areas of the English-speaking world, performing live in public places to entertain people to solicit donations or tips is called BUSKING. Buskers may do musical performance, dance, acrobatics, balloon modeling, juggling, magic, street sketching and painting, puppeteering, mime, or the now popular variation of mime, performing as a "living statue." Manhattan offers countless venues for buskers to perform: parks, subways, tourist spots, outside stadiums, Times Square and streets. But Central Park has some advantages those other locations can’t match. Visitors to the park are out to relax and are more receptive to hearing music and being entertained. Park visitors are encouraged to drop a dollar or two in the donation hat if they hear or see something they enjoy.