Regulations for costumed characters may be forthcoming in New York City. A man dressed as Spider-man was taking pictures with residents and tourists on Saturday. The costumed characters are not paid a fee, but can accept tips for tourists taking pictures with them. For Junior Bishop who was in a Spider-man costume, the $1 tip a customer offered was not sufficient. He told the woman he only accepted $5, $10 or $20 but not $1. Police officers are always on patrol in Times Square and one stopped Bishop, and told him to stop asking people for money.
The costumed not-so-hero swore at the officer and told him to “mind your own f****** business!”
Cell phones flipped on as video cameras caught the officer and Spider-man in an altercation. The officer was taken to the New York University Langone Medical Center, and was treated and released. The unnamed officer reported eye swelling, and a cut on his face.
Other officers arrived at the scene as Bishop was unmasked and dropped to the ground.
Costumed characters on Times Square are coming under scrutiny following similar incidents.
In the last couple of years, another Spider-man cursed and punched a woman in the face who did not tip him after he took pictures with her kids. A man dressed as the Cookie Monster was arrested and charged for pushing a 2-year-old. A costumed Super Mario’s character was accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and an Elmo character let loose an anti-Semitic rant.
Regulation regarding licensure and background checks have been sitting on the desk of the City Council, but loopholes are preventing the passage.
The costumed characters dress voluntarily, if the city pushes for regulation, it can create copyright issues from the owners of the characters.
For the rest of the costumed characters, they said the rookie cop has been causing trouble by telling tourists they do not have tip the characters. They said Bishop was defending himself from the cop’s overly confrontational ways. During the arrest, the officer could be heard yelling “stop resisting, b**ch!”
Police have not advised if the situation is being investigated further. For the remainder of the costumed characters, they went back to taking pictures with tourists for tips.