12/18/95 For immediate release:
At 1:30 P.M. Sunday 12/17/95 eight plainclothes police handcuffed and
arrested three artists on Prince Street between Mercer and Greene Streets in
SoHo. The three artists, Robert Lederman 45, Lei Chang 36 and Joe Costin 68
are members of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics).
Tourists and local residents doing their Christmas shopping watched in shock
as police stuffed original oil paintings into garbage bags and sped off to
avoid an angry crowd that formed. The police also confiscated protest signs,
photos of previous artist arrests and literature detailing the bitter three
year struggle between street artists and New York City.
The arrested artists were charged with not having a vending license, despite
the fact that the Department of Consumer Affairs routinely tells artists
applying for a license that they don't need one based on the First Amendment,
or that the waiting list for a license is totally closed to the general
public and will not be open for at least the next six years. According to
Department of Consumer Affairs spokespersons there are over 5,000 people on
the waiting list. In some years not one license is issued. Confiscated art,
regardless of the cases' outcome, is rarely returned to the artists. Most of
the art is sold at the monthly N.Y.P.D. auction. The $14 million dollars
raised by selling confiscated possessions each year helps fund the N.Y.P.D..
The Commanding Officer of the Peddler Task Force, Lt. Johnson, told SoHo
artists on 12/3/95 that he had been ordered by Mayor Giuliani to arrest more
artists based on a recent ruling by Federal Judge Miriam Cedarbaum. In that
controversial ruling the judge claimed, in direct contradiction to 50 years
of Supreme Court, Appelate and State Court rulings, that visual art is not
protected by the First Amendment. The street artists, who are plaintiffs in a
Federal lawsuit [Lederman et. al. v. City of New York 94 Civ. 7216 (MGC)] are
represented by the law firm of Dewey Ballantine and Volunteer Lawyers for the
Arts and are appealing the ruling.
The eight arresting officers later claimed to be transit police with nothing
to do, who had been issued special orders to arrest artists in SoHo after
both Peddler Squad and First Precinct officers failed to make enough artist
arrests. Police Department sources in the First Precinct claim that City
Council Member for SoHo Kathryn Freed continuously pressures them to make
artist arrests and has arranged the reassignment of at least two police
captains in the past year because they didn't crack down hard enough on the
artists. Despite over 200 artists being arrested on N.Y.C. streets since
1993', not one case has resulted in a Criminal Court conviction. The District
Attorney's office acting in cooperation with the N.Y.C. Corporation Counsel
has dismissed all charges in each case, thereby avoiding the possibility of
an appeal which might result in overturning New York City's Vending
Ordinance.
Robert Lederman, the president of A.R.T.I.S.T. has been arrested 11 times for
selling his art. "We all intend to be right back on Prince Street tomorrow",
said Lederman. "We will not be bullied by these unconstitutional tactics and
false arrests". More arrests, and an ongoing protest, are expected on Prince
Street this week. Photos of the arrests are available. Also available are
transcripts of taped conversations between the Department of Consumer Affairs
and artists applying for a license; affidavits from city officials, etc. For
more info contact: A.R.T.I.S.T. (718) 369-2111 Permission to freely
redistribute granted.
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