This is absolutely a crime in the State of New York. NY Civil Rights Law Sec. 50: “Right of privacy. A person, firm or corporation that uses for advertising purposes, or for the purposes of trade, the name, portrait or picture of any living person without having first obtained the written consent of such person, or if a minor of his or her parent or guardian, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
It is also civilly actionable under Sec. 51 of the the same statute, with injunctions, fees, and even exemplary damages over and above the value of the harm caused as penalties.
