NY Looking At Licensing Public Photography

An article over at the NY times is reporting that the city of New York's, Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting is considering a licensing scheme for folks using cameras in their City.
"New rules being considered by the would require any group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour to get a city permit and insurance. The same requirements would apply to any group of five or more people who plan to use a tripod in a public location for more than 10 minutes, including the time it takes to set up the equipment. Julianne Cho, assistant commissioner of the film office, said the rules were not intended to apply to families on vacation or amateur filmmakers or photographers." Tell that to an over eager jobsworth ... the potential for abuse could be there.