Ellsworth Drive: Not exactly public
From MoCo Gazette:
“It was a beautiful afternoon in downtown Silver Spring and Chip Py wanted to capture the images he saw on film while testing a new filter he had bought for his camera.
The Silver Spring resident stood on Ellsworth Drive and took a few pictures, but was approached almost immediately by a security officer who told him photography was not allowed.
Unconvinced, since he knew photography was allowed in public places, Py said he went to talk to the Peterson Co. management office, which oversees the development on Ellsworth Drive, including Silver Plaza.
‘‘On a public street, I can take pictures of anything I want,” Py said. ‘‘But I was told it wasn’t a public street.”
Py, 43, said he was told by management that the no-photography policy protects the company from people who might want to say or write negative things. In addition, many of the chain stores do not want their concepts to be photographed. There was also concern that Py might sell his photographs.”