For immediate release: 11/4/97

New York City Street Artists  Free Speech
Still Being Violated By Giuliani Administration

Rudy Giuliani loves to refer to New York City as the,  capitol
of the world , but for the City s street artists it s still the,  artist
persecution capitol of the world . Despite a four year long
struggle in which more than 500 artists were arrested, thousands
of works of original art were destroyed by the police and a
Federal lawsuit that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court
affirmed that street artists are fully protected by the First
Amendment, the City continues to pursue its anti-street artist
policy.

Artists throughout the City are still routinely threatened with
arrest and confiscation of their art by police officers who readily
admit they are responding to requests by Business Improvement
Districts (B.I.D.s) and individual landlords to get rid of the
artists. A number of the most influential B.I.D.s (The Fifth
Avenue Association, The Alliance For Downtown New York,
The Madison Avenue B.I.D., The Grand Central Partnership and
The 34th Street Partnership) filed a joint brief with the SoHo
Alliance in Federal court against the street artists in 1996,
claiming they caused an increase in pickpockets and
prostitution, lowered real estate values and made the streets
unsafe. Their anti-art brief also claimed that, "The sale of
artwork does not involve communication of thoughts or ideas"
and warned of, "the dangers...of allowing visual art full First
Amendment protection.

After the artists won their case in Federal Court on October
10th 1996, Mayor Giuliani appealed the ruling to the U.S.
Supreme Court stating in his appeal brief that, "An exhibition of
paintings is not as communicative as speech, literature or live
entertainment, and the artists' constitutional interest is thus
minimal."

Hundreds of summonses have been issued to artists in SoHo, in
midtown and around Central Park in the past few months, most
of which have been dismissed. Art work continues to be
illegally confiscated by local precincts and the Peddler Task
Force. The N.Y.P.D. has begun responding to organized street
artist resistance by deploying large contingents of twenty to
thirty undercover and plainclothes police officers. These
swat-like teams close off streets and sidewalks and swoop down
on the artists, who counter with immediate demonstrations and
acts of civil disobedience.

Robert Lederman, President of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists  Response
To Illegal State Tactics) and a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit says
that little has changed since winning the court case.  The police
continue to do whatever the B.I.D.s want , said Lederman.  The
real estate interests that run this City, their Mayor and their
police are the only lawbreakers here, not the artists. Our group
has convinced street artists to willingly comply with the
Vending Ordinance rules. The problem is that the City blatantly
ignores its own local laws as well as the U.S. and New York
State Constitutions. The directors or operating managers of all
the B.I.D.s are ex-police officials. They go directly from the
N.Y.P.D. to working for the B.I.D.s. It s really the same job,
just more money and greater freedom to operate outside the law.
It s hard not to use the word conspiracy when describing the
City s anti-street artist policy.

For detailed information on the street artist Federal lawsuit or
A.R.T.I.S.T. visit the A.R.T.I.S.T. web page at:
http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html
[It includes contact #'s; a bibliography of newspaper articles; the
case's rulings; previous press releases; descriptions of arrests,
etc.] or contact Robert Lederman (718) 369-2111 or (212)
561-0877 email [log in to unmask] Press kits, photos etc.
available on request.

Other contact numbers:
Fifth Avenue Association (212) 736-7900
Fifth Avenue B.I.D. (212 ) 265-1310
Times Square B.I.D. (212) 768-1560
Madison Ave. B.I.D. (212) 861-2055
Alliance for Downtown N.Y. (212) 566-6700
Grand Central Partnership (212) 818-1777
N.Y.C. Corporation Counsel (212) 788-0303
Council Member Freed (212) 788-7722.
Mayor Giuliani's press office 212 788-2958 .
Peddler Task Force (212) 760-8305
Wayne Cross and Brett Goodman (attorneys for the
artist/plaintiffs (212) 259-8000.