3/26/98 Giuliani puts artist-activist through the system
 in retaliation for filing $200,000,000 lawsuit

At noon on Tuesday March 24th, just two hours after the Giuliani
Administration was served with legal papers in a $200,000,000
civil rights lawsuit, the main plaintiff in the suit, A.R.T.I.S.T.
President Robert Lederman, was arrested and put through the
system on charges including Unlicensed Vending, Failure to
Comply, Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest. Lederman was
held in handcuffs at two police precincts for approximately six
hours and then held in Central Booking until noon the next day.

The arrest came less than two hours after Thomas Rozinski, chief
counsel for the Department of Parks, offered a settlement
agreement to Lederman s attorney, Andrew Miltenberg by phone.
After Miltenberg refused the offer, Rozinski, accompanied by ten
Parks Enforcement officers, went to the street artist protest in front
of the Metropolitan Museum, now in its 28th day, and told
Lederman he d be going to jail. Lederman was then surrounded by
Parks Enforcement officers, handcuffed and dragged to a police
vehicle. Due to a recurring jurisdictional conflict between the
N.Y.P.D. and the Parks Enforcement officers under Rozinski,
Lederman was initially released from the Central Park Precinct
with three summonses but was then violently re-arrested by Parks
officers less than 20 minutes later in front of the museum.

At his arraignment in Criminal Court on Wednesday, the D.A. read
the basis of Lederman s charges to the presiding Judge, claiming
that when confronted by police while displaying books he d
written, copies of Time Magazine and photos of artist arrests
Lederman recited the First Amendment and repeatedly said,
 Giuliani=Police State , and  Stop Arresting Artists  as he was
being handcuffed.

Andrew Miltenberg, attorney for Lederman and three other artist
plaintiffs in the case, Wei Zhang, Knut Masco and Jack Nesbitt,
said the latest arrest, Lederman s 28th since Giuliani first took
office, was the best proof yet of what Lederman has been publicly
saying for the past four years.  This Mayor really is creating a
Police State where any act of political dissent, including the filing
of a lawsuit for false arrest and First Amendment violations, is
likely to lead to immediate and drastic police action aimed at
silencing speech  said Miltenberg.  My client is being repeatedly
targeted for the content of his speech and because of his public
profile as someone who dares to speak out against the Mayor. We
will immediately amend our legal complaint to include these
outrageous new actions aimed at intimidating Mr. Lederman .

Photos of the arrest and a tape recording are availiable to the
media.

For more information or a copy of the legal complaint contact:
Andrew Miltenberg (212) 481-4242 or Robert Lederman (718)
369-2111 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] To read the 2nd circuit
decision go to: http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html
Mayor s Press Office 788-2958; Parks Comm. Henry Stern
360-1305; Thomas Rozinski, legal counsel Parks 360-1314;
William Leurs, Pres. Met Museum 570-3900; Museum Press
office 570-3951 Also see: NY Times 3/2/98 B1;  Newsday 3/2/98
A7; Village Voice 2/24/98 pg 57; Newsday 2/26/98 A8; NY Times
6/3/97 B2; NY Times editorial 3/4/98; Newsday 3/16/98 pg 4. NY
TIMES Metro pg 1 3/22/98  War of the Paintbrushes .