Judge OKs Graffiti Block Party On First Amendment Grounds
 

Dismissing vandalism worries by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Astoria City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., a federal judge reinstated the permit for a Manhattan block party celebrating graffiti, citing freedom of speech.
The ruling ensured that fashion designer Marc Ecko, whose casual clothes are popular with city teens, was able to hold a street festival on Wednesday, where graffiti artists worked on 10 replicas of New York City subway cars from the 1980s.
For the past two weeks Vallone had been lobbying the mayor to get the festival’s permit revoked, claiming the fair was nothing more than a promotional tool for Atari to sell its graffiti-themed video game, “Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure,” which was designed by Ecko, a former graffiti artist.
“This was never about art,” Vallone said. “This is about multimillion-dollar corporations fraudulently obtaining a permit to use our streets to promote a video game that teaches kids how to commit a crime.” As a corporate event, he added, the sponsors should be paying for police, security and restrooms.
Vallone was able to persuade Bloomberg that the festival should not be allowed to continue with the type of permit it had. The mayor said there was nothing cute or funny about graffiti before revoking the permit last week.
Judge Jed Rakoff, however, sharply disagreed, calling the city’s position unconstitutional and a “flagrant violation” of the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech. He said that the city clearly revoked the permit not because of its commercial nature, but because of its substance. And that in any case, Ecko promised it would not include promotional materials for the game at its event.
Rakoff said the idea that the block party would encourage real vandalism was like saying a performance of Hamlet should be banned because it encourages revenge murder.
“As for the street performance of ‘Oedipus Rex,’ don’t even think about it,” he wrote in his decision.
A spokeswoman for the city’s law department said, “We are disappointed in the judge’s ruling. We believe that the city’s denial of a permit to an exhibit that glorifies criminal activity was proper, and should have been upheld.”
For a month Vallone had been decrying the Atari game, which is scheduled to be released in September, including threatening the company with a boycott.
“It appears they want to make crime exciting and to teach children how to get away with breaking the law,” said Vallone, an avid opponent of graffiti. “I’m just glad they aren’t giving out cans of spray paint with this game.”
The councilman was even harassed in a profanity-littered answering machine message by graffiti artist Cope2, also known as Fernando Carlo, who was scheduled to paint at Ecko’s event. In between barnyard epithets, Cope2 blasted the councilman for keeping him from making a living.
Vallone notified police, who issued an arrest warrant for Cope2. The next day Vallone received another message from the graffiti artist. This time it was an apology. “He seemed very sincere. We had a long conversation. I accepted his apology and the police aren’t going to take any further action on it,” Vallone said.
Vallone and Cope2 have had something of a feud ever since the councilman blasted Time Magazine for hiring the veteran graffiti bomber to paint a mural for them in Manhattan. Cope2 appears as a mentor in the Atari game. He did not return calls for comment. A spokesman for Vallone said Cope2 sent a letter to the office saying he would no longer participate in illegal graffiti.
Vallone is still pushing for a boycott of “Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.” But a game about spray painting does seem tame—maybe even artistic—in comparison to blood baths like “Doom” or those where the object is a felony like “Grand Theft Auto.”
Vallone said there’s no excuse for “Grand Theft Auto,” but added that “Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure” is less fantastic and actually teaches players how to be a criminal. He hasn’t seen a copy of the game but from the promotional copy Vallone cited, it promises to improve tagging skills, tips on how to avoid the police and the best places to tag. And the screen shots look very much like New York City subway stations.
A spokesman for Atari did not return calls for comment.
Vallone has written to Wal-Mart and Blockbuster, asking them not to carry the game, but has yet to receive a response. He has asked the National Entertainment Board to rate it mature. “And I’m also asking parents to not buy it.”