I really think this deserves its own thread  

I can't speak about the current situation as I retired ten years ago after more than 30 years of flying media aircraft.  But in that time I landed helicopters in school yards, residential areas, football fields and even landed a fixed wing aircraft in a large parking lot a couple times.  For special landings my secret to not getting in trouble was to notify everyone I could think of in advance; FAA, local police and fire and anyone else I thought cause a problem.  Don't trust others who say they will.  Also, have good security on the ground.  Obviously, a lot depends on local jurisdictions.  Some demanded insurance and others wanted fire trucks on scene. And some requests were outright denied.  I'm sorry this happened to the original poster.  It usually was a great learning experience for students.