Since a police officer got into a deadly shootout with a Times Square CD peddler, cops have been issuing more tickets to the over-eager salesman. In fact, they've given out 45 misdemeanor charges for "aggressive solicitation" in the past six weeks. As a result, CD sellers have nearly been wiped clean from the city's central hub, but is the eradication fair or legal?
A man selling CDs at a table on W. 46th St. said his compatriots were being "harassed by the police." "I heard they got everybody—they all disappeared," food vendor John Galanopoulos told the NY Post, referring to the hustlers who hawk CDs to tourists, posed as rappers. Other vendors have been spared because they have tax stamps or are less aggressive. Legally, selling CDs, just like selling books or art, is protected by the First Amendment.
