A.R.T.I.S.T.
(Artists  Response To Illegal State Tactics)
Robert Lederman, President
255 13th Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215
(718) 369-2111 E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html

2/16/98
To 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

Gentlemen,

With all due respect the members of A.R.T.I.S.T. after meeting this past Friday
and discussing the Parks Department s plan to issue 24 artist permits in front
of
the Metropolitan Museum beginning March 1st, and to arrest, confiscate art
from or issue summonses to artists not having the permit, have resolved the
following:

1. We will not apply for the permit
2. We will continue to create, display and sell our art in front of the museum
based on First Amendment freedom, as we have done for many years.
3. We will, as necessary, picket the Museum and the Arsenal and engage in
other acts of non-violent civil disobedience to protest the Parks Department s
and Central Parks Conservancy s repeated attempts to violate our
Constitutional rights.
4. As necessary, we will file a lawsuit charging, among other things, that the
Parks Department/Central Parks Conservancy is acting in contempt of the 2nd
circuit s ruling in Bery v. City of New York and Lederman et al v. City of
New York.
5. We will bring members of A.R.T.I.S.T. from throughout New York City to
the front of the museum and make that location the new political center of our
struggle.

A demonstration and press conference has been scheduled for February 24th at
9:30 A.M. in front of the Arsenal to begin the campaign of resisting this new
policy. We are willing to meet with you, at any time between now and the
24th, to attempt to resolve this issue.

Sincerely Yours,
Robert Lederman