Something smells a little fishy about this article. First, let's not vilify the police that told these individuals to stop. They were breaking the law, and the police did their jobs. Two years ago, I was selling t-shirts without a permit next to Madison Square garden, and was arrested. Before the officer took me in, he spent 10 minutes talking to me, getting to know me, and explaining the law to me. I guess the guy could have turned a blind on, but i'm glad he didn't. Since then, I've had a decent amount of exposure obtaining permits in the cities I've lived in. The process in some cities is horrid, but others, not so much. Regardless, there is red tape that one has to go through to put on "events" like this. That being said, what would get me angry about this story is if someone in their group tried to work with the city to obtain a permit with their restricted time frame, and was denied.