LGA - World’s Fair Marina Boardwalk 3/20

I was catching some departures yesterday afternoon at the Marina all the way at the end where the restaurant was to my left, very few people, maybe 1 car in the lot.

As I am in the middle of snapping a shot, I hear :

YO, you taking pictures of planes ?

Look to my left and there is standing a gentleman dressed as maybe a construction worker ( as I can put it together ) in his 30s

Me: How are you ??? Yes, its my hobby and I am enjoying this great weather

Him: well, you cant and you are not allowed

Me: Hmmm, may I ask who you are and who you work for that you are making this statement to me ?

Him: I am telling you YOU CANT point that high powered lens at planes or as I was told to do so I will call the PAPD or NYPD on you

Ok sir, again ( I am being very cool and calm ) who do you work for ?

No straight answer, again I get: I am doing what I was told !

Me: Let me ask you a question so we are both very clear, is this private property ?

Him: No, its the parks

Me: Ok, great ! That is all I needed to make clear with you, I respect what ever you are told to do so and if its your job or whatever but I know my rights very well, I ran into NYPD here a few weeks back and they were extremely cool about it and all they had to say was to ENJOY your hobby and took off ( I was with Chris and Mike at the time )

Him: Well, whatever, I can still call who ever I want

Me: Sir, again I RESPECT what you are told to do, but if you really feel the need to call the authorities please feel free, I have nothing to hide and that is all I can tell you

Him: Ummm okey ! whatever !


He walks back to his truck that was parked by the restaurant and his buddy and him were just talking and pointing.

The only thing that I can think of that he works for that restaurant, still, even so, I was far away from that place and not even close to their property.

I was being respectful and said what I had to, I hung out there for another 15-20 min and they switched anyway so I took off !

Nicely done Kaz. You handled the situation well. Again, it seems folks are misinformed or have some notation in their minds that photographing planes is taboo.

Thanks Mark, What was getting to me about this guy was that, he would NOT tell me where he was from or who he was working for!

sounds to me it might have been one of those guys that want to break your guts, but yes im glad you said what you had to say, yes the parks own the boardwalk but it is a public area, so unless he actually with the parks department, he has no say so, He says he was told that no person is to point their camera at the planes, well guess what, no law or rule against it. I once got question by a passing NYPD cruiser while i was on the boardwalk and explain what i was doing and they were cool about it, they checked my ID for warrents then i continued shooting, no problem what so ever, Just remember, you are doing nothing wrong and you are on public property, and always remember to always carry ID..

I have to start going and just hang out if not shooting. I would love the reaction when I turn the tables...