After 14 years of operation, it has recently been revealed that the promenade outside Times Square (in Hong Kong) is actually public land. Since the promenade first opened in 1994, citizens have been prevented from sitting, squating, eating, drinking, or even loitering in this space, which is evidently the equivalent of a public park. Times Square may not have publicly claimed this land as theirs, but their actions have certainly reflected otherwise.
In the past, this space has been used by private companies as venues for product placement, shows, a cafe, as well as other commercial ventures. It is still a mystery as to how much money changed hands between private companies for the use of this public land. Times Square security guards have also made a special effort to stop people from doing things management considered "unsightly". Sometimes this included simply standing around. (Curiously, no security guard ever stopped people from smoking in this area.)
The good news is that this incident has triggered an investigation by the press, to find and liberate all the "private" spaces that actually belong to the public. The people will finally regain their right to enjoy these gardens, parks, and rest areas. No longer will they be charged for useage, or barred from entering.
I guess in the end we have Times Square management to thank. If they didn't push their security guards to kick people out, there would be little to know uproar, and the land discovery would be a small page 5 headline. What touched me about the result was a caller on a radio show, happily proclaiming that she could finally sit in the promenade and eat lunch in peace.
In the past, this space has been used by private companies as venues for product placement, shows, a cafe, as well as other commercial ventures. It is still a mystery as to how much money changed hands between private companies for the use of this public land. Times Square security guards have also made a special effort to stop people from doing things management considered "unsightly". Sometimes this included simply standing around. (Curiously, no security guard ever stopped people from smoking in this area.)
The good news is that this incident has triggered an investigation by the press, to find and liberate all the "private" spaces that actually belong to the public. The people will finally regain their right to enjoy these gardens, parks, and rest areas. No longer will they be charged for useage, or barred from entering.
I guess in the end we have Times Square management to thank. If they didn't push their security guards to kick people out, there would be little to know uproar, and the land discovery would be a small page 5 headline. What touched me about the result was a caller on a radio show, happily proclaiming that she could finally sit in the promenade and eat lunch in peace.
2 comments:
Ha!
And there I was living in fear of the security guards and ending up hiding at the Levis shop across the road and spending too much in fear of an equally scary sales assistant by the name of Yuki.
No I don't know what I'm going on about. Anyway, free land!
Although it doesn't work as well outside of Japan, I've been teaching foreigners how to Gaijin Smash figures of authority in Hong Kong. I think you could get away with it.
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