SARATOGA SPRINGS — Storyteller Bryan Browne was ticketed on Friday. He was ticketed on Saturday. And, again on Sunday. On Monday, the busker expected another summons.The tickets issued by city police allege Browne, who tells stories for donations, is violating the city’s new camping ordinance, which bans sitting and lying down on city sidewalks, parking lots, garages, gazebos and easements. Though a chair for commerce is an exclusion to the camping ban, Browne, who sits on his own stool to weave tales for donations, has been repeatedly ticketed. The $100 fee for each summons is not deterring the unhoused man who said he will continue to share his under-60-second, divinely inspired stories.“You want to take this away from me,” he said. “No chance. These stories need to be heard. … I know I’m supposed to be here. Any obstacle that gets in the way is going to be removed.”The biggest obstacle, he said, is the author of the ordinance, the city’s Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll, who has declined to discuss Browne’s specific case. On Monday, Coll said he wants to “provide a mechanism to connect our most vulnerable residents with the services they need, and to create a safe, orderly, and welcoming downtown area where everyone can enjoy public spaces.”
Browne says a fine does not feel like a warm embrace from the city. He contends Coll is forcing city police officers to ticket him because he’s homeless.“I don’t have problems with the police,” Browne said. “I have a problem with the commissioner. The police apologize for giving me tickets and tell me they have to because of the commissioner.”Parked in front of Kilwin’s Chocolate and Ice Cream shop, Browne’s setup on Broadway is unobtrusive. Set back near the tree line, it consists of his colorful stool and a sidewalk chalk drawing of a rainbow umbrella that reads “Shelter of Love.” He advertises his talent on placards attached to a silk-flower-adorned shopping cart. His billboards tell passersby that he tells “extraordinary true stories in under 60 seconds.”The categories to choose from include “God’s humor,” “foretelling the future,” and “stories that end with the title of a song.”
He said the tales — many of which focus on the interplay of numbers — are revealed to him by a spiritual, unearthly being who opens his eyes as he is guided through life. It is a change for Browne, once a devoted atheist.His life changed when he was still a tenured high school math teacher a few years ago at Hoosic Valley Central School District in Schaghticoke. He said during his last years in the district, he was plagued by health problems that resulted in a ruptured appendix and six abdominal surgeries. “I went through a period when I was constantly sick,” the 60-year-old said. “I ended up here.”…