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.