For Immediate Release: 6/2/97
Provided through OPENAIR-MARKET NET
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the Giuliani Administration's appeal of the 2nd Circuit Federal Appeals Court decision in Lederman et al v. City of New York. The ruling had affirmed that street artists are protected by the First Amendment and can sell their art on City streets without a license.
Police harassment against artists continued right up until this past Sunday, with confiscations of paintings and artist's displays, threats of arrest and numerous tickets being issued in SoHo. Members of A.R.T.I.S.T. staged an impromptu demonstration on West Broadway this Saturday after the police attempted to clear the street of artists, claiming, "The landlords don't want artists here, we have many complaints", and, "Giuliani appealed your case, we don't have to follow the ruling".
From 1993 until 1997 the N.Y.P.D., under pressure from City Council Member Kathryn Freed and a coalition of landlord advocacy groups including the Fifth Avenue Association and the SoHo Alliance, arrested more than 400 artists. Thousands of original paintings, photographs, prints and sculptures were confiscated and sold at a monthly police department auction or destroyed by the City.
Robert Lederman, President of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics) issued this statement about the Supreme Court's ruling: "This decision protects the speech rights not just of artists, but of every person in this country. N.Y.C. officials can no longer ignore the Constitution just to please landlords and campaign contributors. I hope that the Mayor and Council Member Freed will carefully read the 2nd Circuit ruling and abide by it. Street artists benefit the City. It's time for the City to recognize the significant contribution artists make to New York's culture and economy and to stop treating us like second class citizens."
For the entire text of the 2nd Circuit ruling and other detailed information on this issue visit the A.R.T.I.S.T. web site at: http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html
The 2nd Circuit Federal Appeals Court ruling unambiguously states: "Visual art is as wide ranging in its depiction of ideas, concepts and emotions as any book, treatise, pamphlet or other writing, and is similarly entitled to full First Amendment protection....the City's requirement that appellants be licensed in order to sell their artwork in public spaces constitutes an unconstitutional infringement of their First Amendment rights...Displaying art on the street has a different expressive purpose than gallery or museum shows; it reaches people who might not choose to go into a gallery or museum or who might feel excluded or alienated from these forums. The public display and sale of artwork is a form of communication between the artist and the public not possible in the enclosed, separated spaces of galleries and museums...Appellants are interested in attracting and communicating with the man or woman on the street who may never have been to a gallery and indeed who might never have thought before of possessing a piece of art until induced to do so on seeing appellants' works. The sidewalks of the City must be available for appellants to reach their public audience..." Lederman et al v. City of New York 959089 United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Argued April 26, 1996. Decided Oct. 10, 1996.
For more information on A.R.T.I.S.T. call: Robert Lederman (718) 369-2111; (212) 334-4327; E-mail ARTISTpres@aol.com or visit the A.R.T.I.S.T. web site at: http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html
Lawyers for the case: Wayne Cross and Randy Fox at Dewey Ballentine 212 259-8000