In New York City, performers on the subway have been entertaining travelers for years. But now the police are cracking down saying the trains are for transport only.
Sidewalk performances in New York City, especially those featuring small children, can draw quite a crowd. But the real show is often found down below the city's streets on the country's busiest transit system.
On the trains of New York's subway system, dancers flip, spin and climb around crowded cars performing for a captive audience to earn money. But that is coming to an end, with the New York Police Department announcing that it is going to crack down on subway performers.
Commissioner William Bratton from the NYPD said that he is targeting subway acrobats as part of his embrace of the "broken windows" theory of policing, which is the idea that low-grade lawlessness can cultivate a greater sense of disorder and embolden more dangerous offenders.
Andrew "Goofy" Saunders and some friends started doing dance routines on trains in 2007, hoping to make the 10 dollars needed to enter a dance competition. Seven years later, their group W.A.F.F.L.E., standing for We Are Family For Life Entertainment, has a shoe-brand sponsor and has been booked for music videos, parties, even a wedding.
But the roughly 12-person troupe has stopped performing on subways because of the police attention.
The commuters of New York have mixed views on the crackdown.
But the NYPD believes that by focusing on quality of life infractions, like subway acrobats, they can stop more serious crimes.