For immediate release: 3/6/98.........UPDATE:

Ongoing Street artist demo at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The street artist demonstration against an artist-permit system
is now in its 11th day. Parks Enforcement police continue to
make daily illegal confiscations of art in blatant contempt of the
Federal Court ruling* that says artists do not need a license or
permit, and continues to focus its enforcement most heavily on
female, African American and Asian artists. Between 10 and 30
Parks Enforcement officers and an additional 5 to 15 N.Y.P.D.
officers are on permanent duty at any one time guarding the
artists.

Each day, Chief Brash the head of Parks Enforcement and
Thomas Rozinsky, legal counsel for Parks, inspect the area
[usually between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M.], make cell phone calls
to the Arsenal and Mayor Giuliani s office and supervise a
sweep of confiscations. On Thursday they personally
performed the confiscating, carrying armfuls of art to be placed
into black plastic garbage bags. Each wave of repression is met
by the artists with the chanting of political slogans, the blowing
of whistles and an invitation to confiscate more art. No
confiscations are made when media representatives are present.

The Met Does Nothing to Help the Artists
The following is a partial transcript of  a N Y 1 INSIDE CITY
HALL 3/3/98 interview with Henry Stern, Commissioner of
The Department of Parks on the street artist protests, artist
arrests and daily confiscations of original art outside the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Interviewer:  A spokesman for the Met has said they would
have preferred that the policy [allowing artists to sell their
work based on First Amendment freedom] not be changed.

 Commissioner Stern:  The Met is of two minds on this issue.
Some people feel this way, other people thank us privately for
doing what we re doing. There are a lot of artists on the Met s
staff and they have fears that whenever any artist is regulated
that it s a Police State.

Interviewer:  What do think of the folks who say the Giuliani
administration has gone too far?

Stern:  I think they haven t gone far enough .

In the interview Commissioner Stern also described his policy
on art, saying that the artists in front of the Met,  ...can draw
anything they want, they can paint anything they want, free, no
permit anytime, but when you sell that s money and that should
be [regulated].




Compare Commissioner Stern s version of the law with the
2nd circuit ruling in the street artist case:

*  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...paintings, photographs, prints and sculptures, such as
those appellants seek to display and sell in public areas of the
City, always communicate some idea or concept to those who
view it, and as such are entitled to full First Amendment
protection...The City further argues that appellants are free to
display their artwork publicly without a license, they simply
cannot sell it. These arguments must fail. The sale of protected
materials is also protected.  -Bery v. City of New
York/Lederman et al v City of New York 1996 .

ONE CENT PROTEST
The Metropolitan Museum still refuses to take any active
position on this issue, as explained by Commissioner Stern s
comment that he is privately being thanked by Met officials.
Due to the One Cent Protest in which the artists hand out a
penny to each museum visitor and urge them to use it for the
voluntary admission, the Met is estimated to have lost at least
$100,000 dollars since the protest began.

It is Mayor Giuliani, the Parks Department and the N.Y.P.D.
that appear to be violating the law, not the artists. The protest
will continue.

More arrests are expected on Saturday when a much larger
number of artists usually show up at the Met. Last Sunday
there were four arrests when what the police described as a
 riot  broke out after A.R.T.I.S.T. President Robert Lederman
was arrested for writing  God Bless America  and
 Giuliani-Police State  in chalk in front of the block-long
police barricades. Sixteen artists had their works repeatedly
confiscated over a three hour period and approximately 40
summonses were issued. As soon a news crew arrived the
confiscations immediately stopped.

For more information contact:
A.R.T.I.S.T.  (Artists  Response To Illegal State Tactics)
255 13th Street Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215
(718) 369-2111 E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html
Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern (212) 360-1305, Thomas
Rozinski, General Counsel Parks Department  (212) 360-1314,
William Leurs, President Metropolitan Museum of Art (212)
570-3900, Ashton Hawkins, Legal Counsel Metropolitan
Museum of Art (212) 570-3936, Central Park Conservancy
(212) 315-0385
Also see: NY Times 3/2/98 B1; NY Times Editorial 3/4/98;
Newsday 3/2/98 A7; Village Voice 2/24/98 pg 57; Newsday
2/26/98 A8; NY Times 6/3/97 B2