For Immediate Release (4/1/98):
provided through OPENAIR-MARKET NET
Yesterday 15 Parks Enforcement Police illegally seized all of the protest signs being used by the street artists involved in a demonstration outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The protest against an artist permit system and lottery that the artists consider to be unconstitutional is now in its 30th day.
A.R.T.I.S.T. President, Robert Lederman was issued a summons in lieu of arrest after the Chief and Deputy Chief of Parks Enforcement confiscated his four times life-size satirical portrait of Mayor Giuliani as Hitler. Lederman has been forcibly handcuffed and arrested nine times during the course of this demonstration making a total of 29 arrests since 1994 while protesting against Mayor Giuliani's "quality of life" initiatives. Artist Knut Masco was handcuffed and arrested for displaying protest signs and was told he'd be, "put through the system" if he was caught displaying another sign at the demonstration.
Lederman, Masco, Chinese artist Wei Zhang and artist Jack Nesbitt are co-plaintiffs in a 200 million dollar Federal lawsuit recently filed against the Mayor and the Parks Department charging them with deliberately violating artists' First Amendment rights, selective enforcement, malicious prosecution and false arrest. Lederman and Masco were plaintiffs in a 1996 Federal Appeals case which ruled that artists are fully protected by the First Amendment and need no license or permit to sell their art anywhere on public property. Both the Mayor and the Parks Department were defendants in the previous suit.
Andrew Miltenberg, attorney for the plaintiffs in the current suit made the following statement in connection with yesterday's confiscations and arrest. "This is clearly a punitive and retaliatory attempt by the city. Instead off dealing with the lawsuit on its merits, they are trying to shut down this demonstration and install the permit system by police intimidation, false arrests and art confiscations. Apparently, the Parks Department has such a limited view of free speech that displaying even a single protest sign on a public sidewalk now opens someone to the possibility of arrest. This once benign government agency appears to be breaking new ground in the Mayor's war against free speech".
For more information or a copy of the legal complaint filed on 3/20/98 contact: Andrew Miltenberg (212) 481-4242 or Robert Lederman (718) 369-2111; E-Mail: ARTISTpres@aol.com
To read the 2nd circuit decision go to: http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html
Mayor's Press Office 788-2958; Parks Comm. Henry Stern 360-1305; Thomas Rozinski, legal counsel Parks 360-1314; William Leurs, Pres. Met Museum 570-3900; Museum Press office 570-3951
Also see: NY Times 3/2/98 B1; Newsday 3/2/98 A7; Village Voice 2/24/98 pg 57; Newsday 2/26/98 A8; NY Times 6/3/97 B2; NY Times editorial 3/4/98; Newsday 3/16/98 pg 4. NY TIMES Metro pg 1 3/22/98 "War of the Paintbrushes".