Photography permits
dabunny draws my attention to Slashdot: NYC considering requiring permits for public photography. I feel it's also worth mentioning Bostonist: MBTA changes policy on permits for amateur photography.

Permits for photography in public areas strike me as a dangerous and nearly unenforceable gambit. It seems like a good way to give yet another reason to police to harass people that they already dislike, for whatever reason. The previous MBTA policy was already basically unenforceable. My flickr account includes a couple dozen photos on the MBTA that were taken without a permit. The proposed NYC code would require photographers to carry $1M in liability insurance for any shoot taking a tripod and more than 15 minutes -- there's also a rule about a crew of more than 5 people, but I'm not sure what rules they would use to define "crew".

I'd urge any NYC residents to write the Mayor's Office of Film and Broadcasting (see Sean Reiser's blog for an example and contact info) with questions or concerns. There's an August 3rd deadline to comment.