Meet the costumed capers from New York's Times Square

Beneath all the cartoon masks are real faces baring real life struggles

NEW YORK: Beneath flashing billboards and sparkling skyscrapers, Maria Bega moves through Times Square dressed as Princess Anna from Frozen. The 32-year-old Peruvian is one of dozens of men and women, mostly from Latin America, trying to eke out a living as costumed characters in New York.

Dressed as Sesame Street fuzzballs Elmo and Cookie Monster and superheroes like Batman and Hulk, these masked artists pose for photos with tourists in exchange for tips, vying with topless women in body paint and a semi-naked guitar-playing cowboy. For many visitors, the mascots are part of the frenetic entertainment district's charm but to some New Yorkers, they symbolise a crowded neon nightmare that is best avoided.

The characters are currently the subject of many complaints, proof of how much the area once known for peep shows, pornos and crack cocaine has been cleaned up in recent decades. With its bright lights and giant branded stores, the famous intersection is a symbol of the city that never sleeps and its untold opportunities; where dreams are made of, as Alicia Keys and Jay-Z said.



PHOTO: AFP

But for Bega, the reality is more of a nightmare. She says she sometimes makes just $20 a day. "You come here to waste your time, to freeze to death, and sometimes, you don't even earn enough to eat," she says.

Bega got into the work through a friend and has colleagues from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Ecuador. Many bring their costumes from their home countries, where they can be purchased cheap. They require no permit to operate.

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Naked

"Some are a little pushy but most of them are nice. They're out here making a living like everybody else," says 62-year-old Kentucky resident Dave Duke, who took a photo of his wife with a costumed Statue of Liberty.

The entertainers say making money has become more difficult following several harassment and groping allegations that sparked articles about "costumed creeps." In September, a man in an Elmo costume was arrested after being accused of groping a 14-year-old girl. "Because of this, the police came to bother us. They're hardly letting us work," reveals Bega, who does a second job in the evenings in order to care for her kids.

Jose from Mexico, a different Elmo to the one arrested, says one or two of the hucksters are spoiling it for everyone else. "Children used to run to me but now they see headlines about Elmo being a child molester and they don't." he explains.

PHOTO:FILE

Nearby, Robert Burck is having a better time of it, belting out tunes on his guitar while wearing only underpants, a cowboy hat and boots. The 48-year-old known as the "Naked Cowboy" has been a regular fixture at Times Square for 20 years and makes around $150,000 a year in tips. "I absolutely love the fact that I'm working in a den of thieves," he jokes, as CD sellers and ticket touts hustle with tourists.

'Crazy’

Up to 450,000 people are estimated to cross Times Square every day but some New Yorkers try to find a way around it if they can. Under discussions such as "Why do New Yorkers dislike Times Square?" on Quora, locals cite crowds, overpriced restaurants, stores selling tourist tat and the costumed characters.

The Times Square Alliance, a non-profit that supports local businesses, wants to improve the intersection further by reining in the mascots. It dislikes their pack-like modus operandi where one puts an arm around an unwitting tourist before others rush over to be in the photo and demand money. "Times Square is always a little bit crazy. It's all about capitalism," Alliance president Tim Tompkins says. "But what we're objecting to here is that sometimes it's not voluntary."

Since 2016, the characters' commercial activities have been restricted to specific zones but some roam outside the marked areas. The Alliance believes better regulation of the costumed characters by city authorities would make Times Square even more family-friendly. "We're trying to make the experience the best for people who have the opportunity to visit," adds Tompkins.

Times Square is nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World." There, Bega finds that she is at a crossroads of her own. "The work is not sustainable. I don't know if I can continue like this," she admits, before running off to join a friend dressed as Winnie the Pooh.

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