Giuliani Administration
Appeals Street Artist Case
to U.S. Supreme Court
["An exhibition of paintings is not as communicative as
speech, literature or live entertainment, and the artists'
constitutional interest is thus minimal".
Quoted from pg. 22 of Giuliani appeal brief to U.S. Supreme
Court
filed on 2/25/97.]

New York may be the art capital of the world but the Giuliani
Administration has zero tolerance for artists' First Amendment
rights. City attorneys have filed an appeal on behalf of the
Mayor with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to reverse a Second
Circuit Federal Appeals Court ruling declaring that, "Paintings,
photographs, prints and sculptures...are entitled to full First
Amendment protection."

The Federal ruling severely criticized the Giuliani
Administration's street artist arrest policy, calling it "myopic"
and, "unduly restricted" and concluded that, "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". The City's
position, as described in its legal briefs, is that visual art is
unworthy of Constitutional protection; that sidewalk art displays
encourage petty crime, litter and a diminished quality of life;
and that public displays of fine art are a serious threat to public
health and safety.

The controversial arrest policy began in 1993 due to pressure
from real estate interests led by the Fifth Avenue Association,
the City's four most powerful Business Improvement Districts,
the SoHo Alliance and City Council Member for SoHo, Kathryn
Freed. On 2/28/96 Freed and the real estate interests filed an
amicus brief in Federal Court claiming, "The sale of artwork
does not involve communication of thoughts or ideas" and
warning of, "the dangers of allowing visual art full First
Amendment protection". Between 1993 and 1996 more than 400
New York City artists were handcuffed and arrested for
displaying or selling original paintings, photographs, sculptures
and limited edition prints on the street. Not one artists' case was
ever brought to trial yet City officials systematically destroyed
the thousands of works of art they confiscated.

In 1994 members of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal
State Tactics) filed suit in Federal Court [95-9089 Lederman et
al v. City of New York] charging Mayor Giuliani and other
N.Y.C. officials with violating their First Amendment right to
speech and Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection. To
show paintings on the street, artists were required to get a
vending license which the City's own legal briefs described as,
"unobtainable". At the same time the City allowed an unlimited
number of book, magazine and baseball card vendors to sell on
the street without a license or permit of any kind, based on First
Amendment freedom.

A.R.T.I.S.T. president Robert Lederman, a plaintiff in the
Federal suit who has been arrested thirteen times for selling his
paintings, promises to keep showing his art on the street
whatever the case's outcome. "The City officials behind this
policy have no respect for artists, culture or the U.S.
Constitution", he said. "Mayor Giuliani and Council Member
Freed are attacking artists' rights to satisfy the real estate
interests that put them in office. If they prevail with this
criminally misguided policy before the Supreme Court,
America's artists will lose their constitutionally protected
freedom to create, display or sell visual art".

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, [log in to unmask] (718) 369-2111
or (212) 334-4327 Press kits available on request. N.Y.C.
Corporation Counsel (representing the City in the appeal) (212)
788-0303 Leonard Koerner, Elizabeth Friedman, Robin Binder
attorneys. Council Member Freed (212) 788-7722. Mayor
Giuliani's press office 212 788-2958