"Sketch artists who sell their work on public streets within NYC are exempt from licensing requirements relating to general vendors, as they are considered First Amendment protected items," Sergeant Brendan Ryan of the New York Police Department's public information bureau wrote to China Daily in response to an e-mailed inquiry.

According to Ryan, the rules regulate that sketch artists must be at the curb when they sell, offer to sell or exchange currency for their work. He said they cannot be within 20 feet of an entranceway to any building or store, and they cannot vend within a bus stop, taxi stand or within 10 feet of any driveway, subway entrance or exit, or corner.

The sketch artist who has retired his business to the quieter Central Park said he used to conduct his business in Times Square when he first arrived in New York a few decades ago.

"It used to be rougher in Times Square when I first started, and you weren't as free to do business in Central Park either," the man said. "The police have become much more lenient and the environment has become friendlier for street artists."

A 39-year-old artist in Times Square who goes by the name "Wesley," and is originally from Qingdao, Shandong province, said there is room for improvement in regulating street art businesses.

"I wish we could have some people help us figure out a better system and create a better regulation standard for us to go by so that we run into less trouble," said Wesley, who specializes in caricatures and loves the vibrancy of working in Times Square. "I hope this form of art never leaves New York streets, and I hope to help to this end because I think we contribute a special character to the city of New York."

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