The city already has laws covering the punching and groping that some of the city’s fake super heroes and cartoon characters are accused of. Those laws are adequate to prosecuting criminal behavior. So it’s not the actual behavior that’s the problem. Follow the money.
One bill would require registration, as well as a permission slip proving that the character involved has been licensed, for anyone appearing as a costumed character. The other bill would go farther to ban costumed characters outright.
The CBS story goes on to talk about a Cookie Monster who shoved a kid, a Mario who groped a woman, and a Spiderman who punched a mom when she told him that she didn’t have any money to pay him for photos with her kids. Three incidents in a city the size of New York are not a rampant crime wave. All of that behavior is already illegal whether a dude is dressed up in a costume or not. Councilman Peter Vallone says police don’t have adequate tools to deal with fake superheroes, which is absurd. New York’s finest deal with tougher crooks every day. They can deal with a perv wearing a fake mustache. The real problem is that the megacorporations aren’t getting their cut from the otherwise ne’er do wells who spend their days dressed up to scratch out a living rather than getting real jobs. The megacorps own the Democrat party, and they will get their due.
Vallone said he has spoken with Times Square Alliance president Tim Tompkins, who agreed that “something needs to be done,” and will be working with the councilman on the legislation. Disney and Nickelodeon, whose characters are represented without license by the costumed performers, will also be involved, Vallone said.
If the corps get their due, NYC can charge them taxes.
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