Subway performers were at New York City Hall Tuesday fighting back against the spike in arrests by the police department.

Business Insider reported that subway panhandler and performer arrests have risen by 271 percent since Police Commissioner Bill Bratton took office.

Matthew Christian, a musician and organizer with buskny.com, advocates for subway musicians who perform on the mezzanine and platform and train dancers. He says the MTA's rules of conduct say non-transit uses are permitted such as public speaking, campaigning, leafleting, voter registration and artistic performances.

"That means anyone who plays the violin, who sings, who reads poetry, who plays with puppets on the subway platform or in subway mezzanine level is allowed to do that. There is no permit in New York City; there is no approval process. You can freelance whenever you'd like to freelance. Unfortunately this is not well known in New York," said Christian.

Christian says, as far as he knows, the NYPD does not provide training for police officers about subway artistic performance with the result that many police officers believe freelance performance to be a violation of these rules. Christian said he was arrested for playing a violin. His group buskny.com logs wrongful arrests, and 12-15 artists are suing the police department for those arrests. A settlement, he thinks, could be in the $100,000s of taxpayer money.

MTA rules do not, however, permit dancing on the train, which is a civil fine of $100, but Christian says in 350 cases, dancers have been charged with reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor, which can carry up to one year in jail.

"Many of my friends have been ticketed, arrested and harassed. I play my guitar all over the world, and have no problems in any other country. At a time when people say there are no jobs and everyone is struggling to make ends meet I think it is kinda strange they are criticizing people who are trying to make a little money," said Jessica Delfino. "When I moved here 13 years ago I didn't have a job. I was surviving by busking, but I stopped because I don't want to get arrested."

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said the crackdown is part of his "broken window theory," that targeting smaller crimes like graffiti can "cultivate a greater sense of disorder and embolden more dangerous offenders." The NYPD cites safety issues.

"We haven't caused any injuries or anything. This is New York City culture. It shouldn't be pushed away, it should be embraced," Andrew Saunders said, who danced in cars until his arrest last year. He was fined $100.