Bill Introduced to Curtail Ticket Scams at the Battery
A new law introduced in the City Council aims to curb abuses by ticket hawkers at the Battery. These street salespeople – several dozen stationed around the perimeter of Battery Park on any given day – often sell fraudulent passes purporting to offer access to the Statue of Liberty. As tourists approach Battery Park, they are intercepted by aggressive men and women wearing vests with official-looking logos who block their passage toward the only legitimate Statue of Liberty ticket seller, Statue City Cruises, which is located at Castle Clinton within the park.
City Council member Christopher Marte, one of the bill’s sponsors, said at a May 21 morning press conference at Broadway and Battery Place, “this place is the Wild West. When you come here, you get people approaching you selling false tickets, sometimes to destinations that don’t exist. Yesterday, [City Council member] Keith Powers and I saw families being harassed. A father of two asked for a refund after paying more than $300 for tickets.”
Tickets for Statue City Cruises round-trip ferry service to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, leaving from Battery Park, start at $25.50.
Tickets sold by hawkers at the Battery are sometimes valid for admission to boats that tour the harbor, but these boats are based elsewhere (sometimes a bus ride away) and sold under the false pretense that they stop at the Statue of Liberty. In other cases, tickets turn out simply to be worthless counterfeits.A third scam involves selling bogus, expensive passes to board the Staten Island Ferry, which is free.
At the May 21 press conference, Community Board 1 chair Tammy Meltzer noted, “I was stopped on my way here today by people pretending to be security and warning me that I’m not allowed to walk through this public park without buying a ticket. A perfect storm of ineffective regulation and big profits has paved the way for rampant consumer fraud, blocked access to the Battery, and a growing environment of aggression, assaults and even stabbings in the scramble for turf and tourist dollars.”
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said, “these hawkers even try to charge admission to enter the Battery, which is a public park, free to all.”
Jessica Lappin, president of the Downtown Alliance, added, “this beautiful park is the birthplace not only of our city, but of our nation. That is why well over nine million tourists per year come to visit this park and this neighborhood. But there are days when more than 70 incredibly aggressive ticket sellers harass people as they enter the park – scamming them, intimidating them. It’s the worst it has ever been and needs to stop.”
Mr. Marte said, “we’re going to bring change. The way is to go after the third-party corporations that allow this mess to work, rather than individual ticket vendors.” This strategy is driven by the fact that the ticket hawkers working in the park are not directly employed by the firms that pay them. Rather, they have the legal status of independent contractors.
The proposed new law will (if enacted) require business licenses for ticket seller operators rather than just individual sellers working on the street, while also establishing stricter penalties – including license revocation – for repeat violations. It would prohibit aggressive and deceptive vending tactics, and mandate clear identification for legitimate sellers.
Not everyone is pleased with the proposed legislation. “Statue City Cruises strongly opposes this ineffective (as drafted) bill the City Council is proposing to deal with the illegal and aggressive Statue of Liberty ticket scammers in Battery Park, which does not address that it is always illegal to sell in the park,” said Rafael Abreu, vice president of sales and marketing at Statue City Cruises. “The bill is counterproductive because it will only empower ticket scammers to further manipulate the already horrendous conditions in the park by making them appear legitimate with vests and licenses with the company name on them, both of which can easily be forged. The only way to solve the problem once and for all is consistent and collaborative enforcement that kicks these scammers out of the park for good and holds a company utilizing these individuals who are breaking the law accountable.”