Music Shutdown Continues in Washington Square Park

This past summer, Leroy Webb sang rhythm & blues and played his electric piano as a solo artist almost nightly by the fountain in Washington Square Park. He was among many other entertainers who performed late into the night without event or sound permits. Police did not interfere, and listeners gave tips to the buskers, so the number of amplified entertainers and their volume increased dramatically throughout the summer.

By late September, however, the local police precinct and Park Enforcement Patrol put an end to these events, citing complaints from neighbors. The officers patrolled the park nightly, asking all the entertainers to turn off their amplifiers. The park was quiet again for the first time in several months.

Webb has returned to Washington Square Park, and now leads a quartet which, he announced, plays in the park every Thursday night. About 10:20 p.m. tonight, however, two police officers approached the musicians and commanded them to stop playing their music and pack their instruments. The officers explained that even if the musicians had secured a permit, they could not play past 10 p.m.

The police then also shut down someone who was playing recorded music from a tall boom box inside the fountain, which is now dry and draws skateboarders.