A Times Square Elmo was arrested over the weekend and charged with forcible touching after allegedly groping a 14-year-old girl's butt on Sunday. In response, the Times Square Alliance (a BID that reliably concerns itself with keeping New York City's foremost tourist trap wholesome) convened a press briefing, alerting the media to what they characterized as a pattern of predatory behavior: the costumed characters of Times Square getting uncomfortably grabby in their quest to reel in business.
The Alliance also released a video montage, so you can see for yourself. There's a nest of Minnie Mice pulling an unwitting pedestrian into a sinister huddle, a Mario Kart (??) character latching onto a passerby's arm and hitching a ride down the street, an Incredible Hulk throwing an unwanted arm around a stranger's shoulder. The footage has been selectively edited to remind you that Sunday's incident was not a one-off, sure, but the behavior on display is inarguably obnoxious, and in some cases, certifiably creepy. No argument there.
The Alliance also shared quotes from New Yorkers who've dealt with harassment from the characters, including one encounter where a performer hopped into a woman's wheelchair with her, and another in which a costumed character "forcefully" grabbed a kid's hand, demanding a "tip" from the mother for the photo opp. At the same time, "another costumed person suddenly appeared and quickly took another picture," which in turn required another "tip." The former may definitely constitute harassment, and the latter, a premeditated grift.
Just to really hammer home their point, the group also circulated the results of a March 2019 survey of 4,000 people, which the Alliance reportedly commissioned. The survey tallied an average of 24 non-consensual touches per hour, based on spot checks, which certainly does not look good. And of the New Yorkers polled, a reported 47 percent said that within the past year, they'd had an "unpleasant interaction" with a costumed character or some kind of solicitor in Times Square. Further, 22 percent of that group attested to "unwanted physical contact."
Honestly, considering the context, I would expect those numbers to be higher. If you live here and find yourself passing through Times Square, it's probably not to see the gaudy sights; it's probably because of work, or some unfortunately positioned doctor's appointment, or a similarly non-optional obligation means you have to be there. If that is the case, a rogue Cookie Monster trailing you probably will feel unpleasant, and any swipes they make at your arm will almost certainly be unwanted. Meanwhile, looking at the tourists' responses, you might almost assume they expected this level of chaos: 15 percent of visitors recalled "unwanted physical contact" from the characters, and while 76 percent of New Yorkers listed characters and solicitors as a top Times Square drawback, only 22 percent of visitors said the same.
For the tourists who visit Times Square, a Disneyland vibe might be part of the desired experience. That's not to say it's in any way acceptable for Elmos to grab passing butts, or that people who venture into Times Square deserve to get groped. Still, the Alliance does have a particular agenda with respect to the rag-tag armies of costumed characters and breast-baring desnudas roving Times Square. The BID pushed hard for the city to relegate characters to "designated activity zones," i.e. small swatches of sidewalk where they may legally ply their photo shoots. While the Alliance may argue that the zones prevent unwanted contact, they may actually encourage precisely the kind of tactics displayed in the video above. Once one poor chump gets roped into posing, a swarm of other suits might also descend, each performer hoping to skim their own tip from the mark. That's because confining characters to narrow, ill-situated freedom strips cuts into their money-making potential: One Times Square Minnie Mouse told Gothamist in 2016 that her take dropped from $50 to $60 for seven hours of work, to $20 after the zones were put in. On an hourly wage of maybe $2.86, you can see where a person might get desperate.
Anyway, we would just like to flag this nifty hack for taking a photo that maintains the illusion of intimacy, while mostly precluding the possibility of unwanted physical contact. It is called the Keanu Arm, so-named for its originator (Keanu Reeves), and is very easy to execute. Just let your arm hover a good four-to-six inches behind the back of the person who's posing with you — while from the front it will look as though the two of you are sharing a warm half-hug, you are really respecting your partner's personal space. See the above example, it really works!
