Oil painting artist - Chang Tien-yu ( Hawk Chang ) Art web. My name is Chang Tien?Yu and I am the chairperson of the Taipei Outdoors Artists Associaton. Following in the footsteps of many great artists, I came to New York to enrich my life in the arts. In our minds, New York is the center of the universe . It is in this city that artists from all over the world nurture their talents,create imaginative pieces of art, and start novel artistic styles. What makes New York the Mecca of arts is not only its collection of galleries and museums, but more importantly, its role as an incubator for the next generation of artists, its tolerance for grassroots artistic activities on the street, and in all, its spirit of free imagination. This greatness of New York is now in danger. The requirement of limited permits for the use of sidewalks proposed by the city administration would make it all but impossible for street artists to make a living, let alone creating artworks or starting novel styles. By forcing artists off the street, this harshness would not only dry up the spring of creativity, but also deprive the artists of their rights to free expression, which is inherent in the ideals of this nation. No matter how safe, how clean, and how colorful this city has become, New York without the spirit of free imagination would be poor in its heart and hollow in its soul. There is no more vibrant example of this spirit than the art display to the public on the streets. For centuries, the public streets have been the birthplace of many great names in the arts, Picasso¡B Van Gogh¡B and Monet¡B to name just a few. The streets to artists are gift from God that we should cherish. My honorable senators, the history is in your hands. I hope you can make a decision that one day you can proudly tell your children and grandchildren that ¡§ I helped save New York as the cultural capital of the world by keeping its spirit of free imagination alive¡¨ The city I came from, Taipei, is looking up to New York as a model as the capital of culture. I hope by the time when I return to Taipei I can tell my people that New York deserves this title because it knows how to take the challenges in enshrining its spirit of free imagination.