HONOLULU -- Waikiki street performers would be banned from four busy blocks of Kalakaua Avenue at night under a proposal approved by the Honolulu City Council on Tuesday.

Street performers would not be allowed along Kalakaua Avenue in front of the International Marketplace between 7and 10 p.m., under the bill that passed the City Council, by a 7-2 vote.

That means Richard Silvius will no longer be able to play his saxophone there. He said it's not worth going elsewhere in Waikiki.

"If I took my sax out and started playing at the corner of Lewers and Ala Wai, it wouldn't be long before the cops arrested me for disturbing the peace," Silvius said.

Robert Gail's 14-year-old daughter plays the violin on Waikiki's streets to raise money for college.

"If this bill is passed, it will go to litigation, and it will cost the city a lot of money," Gail said.

"Prostitutes in Waikiki can parade around openly flirt and solicit men on the streets of Waikiki and the boardwalk, but a young girl is not allowed to play her violin," street performer Jon Mitchell said.

Supporters of the new law said it's needed to protect pedestrians, even though police have no recorded reports of injuries because of street performers. Hotels and businesses don't like the noise and crowding that the performers cause.

"It's a perfectly legitimate and appropriate response to a municipal problem that's developed," city special council, Jon Van Dyke said.

The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue, saying the new law is unconstitutional.

Van Dyke said he believes the measure would be upheld as constitutional.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann is upset the City Council fast-tracked the bill and didn't hold a final committee meeting to iron out differences.

"So I'd like to hear from the ACLU. If they have an idea that will keep us out of court and we can come to some kind of an agreement, I'd like to use that time now to go back to the council and say 'reconsider,'" Hannemann said.

The mayor said he is not sure whether he will sign or veto the street-performing bill.