Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1999--NEW YORK (APJ) --When you talk to New York artist Robert Lederman, he sounds a little bit amazed that he has become a lightning rod for the serial wrath of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani--but now that he has, he's started to attract media attention as one of the nation's highest-profile First Amendment activists.
And it's not of the type of attention that Rudy needs in the early stages of his bid for the U.S. Senate.
The story started nearly four years ago when Lederman was arrested for displaying his wares in the street--and was charged with Disorderly Conduct, Obstruction of Government Administration and (shock!) displaying or selling art. The arrest was one of many which targeted artists and vendors in Giuliani's zeal to sweep the streets of these "nuisances".
What Hizzoner did not expect was for this one artist to fight back--not only against the charges for which he was busted, but in the form of a first amendment lawsuit filed by Lederman and the organization he was instrumental in forming, A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics). Lederman and A.R.T.I.S.T. lost the lawsuit in late 1995 and appealed the ruling to the Second Circuit. And, in late 1996, he won the appeal--and the city in turn appealed the ruling to the highest court in the land.
"I'd never filed a lawsuit before this one. And we won, all the way up to the Supreme Court. They denied Giuliani's appeal. After that, I thought things would settle down. Instead, NYPD stepped up their arrests--and I believe the Mayor is behind it."
So Lederman's activism against the city's policies shifted--from protesting the assault on street vendors to Giuliani's evident intolerance of voices of dissent in "His" New York. And Lederman's appearances at protest events included his newest artworks: a series of scathing caricatures of Giuliani as Hitler. Lederman says these portraits--which have even been honored with a gallery show--were an additional factor in his being "singled out" for arrest.
"This month, I'm involved in a federal trial and three criminal trials. The three criminal proceedings are for arrests protesting Mayor Giuliani--but the federal trial is one of my current lawsuits against Giuliani."
It should be noted that Lederman has also amassed an enviable record of success against the city and NYPD's various legal entanglements. In addition to victory before the Supreme Court, one criminal court judge dismissed two dozen cases against Lederman late last year in a single motion.
When Lederman talks about his run-ins with the city, he sounds more enthusiastic than victorious. He's energetic and upbeat, but to-the-point--not unlike the portraits of Rudy that seem to infuriate the powers-that-be. He continues to go where the city's voices of dissent gather, protesting the city's continued war on vendors, police brutality, and the Mayor's campaign to quash first amendment rights.
And in a period of less than two weeks, Lederman has been back in the news--on two fronts.
As you might expect from an advocate of free expression and art, Lederman joined the protest against Rudy Giuliani's attempts to retaliate against the Brooklyn Museum for their decision to mount the "Sensations" exhibition.
"At the Brooklyn Museum, they had a squad of officers waiting for me to arrive. As I got out of my car and walked toward the museum, talking with a large gathering of press people, the officers arrested me. I was processed and released within two hours. But as a result of making that arrest in front of so many reporters, my painting of Giuliani with a turd on his head was seen around the world!"
"Originally, it was the portraits that were getting me arrested--but now I believe it's the emails. I'm putting out information nobody else is putting out."
Keep in mind that the New York media was also abuzz with news of illnesses and deaths caused by a mosquito-borne disease originally identified as Saint Louis Encephalitis--and Lederman had started addressing a number of concerns in his regular email dispatches, including the safety of the pesticide Malathion and the possibility that the outbreak could have been caused by a biological weapon--or the accidental release of a virus.
These questions have been taken seriously by the New York and national press, who picked up on one of Lederman's most disturbing revelations: that the Mayor's Office had been internally distributing a "Chemical Warfare Biological Handbook" bearing the official seal of the city and signed by the mayor, Police Commissioner "Hollywood" Howard Safir, and other city officials. The handbook had been leaked to Lederman by an emergency services worker.
Rudy has had little to say about the book--and is clearly hoping that the story will redound to his "preparedness to deal with an outbreak of disease."
But the problem is that it isn't happening--cases continue to turn up in and around New York, criticism of Malathion spraying is getting play in some corners of the press, and some are raising charges of a coverup of a more dire situation by the Giuliani Administration, including the very possibilities of a biological attack or accident.
And Giuliani seems oblivious to the possibility that his handling of the current crisis could severely impact his chances at a Senate seat.
Lederman descrbes Rudy as "unapproachable by even his inner circle if they are trying to be critical. And he isn't listening to the papers. Even The Post--which was attacking me in editorials last year--has turned on him."
Instead, Rudy is again criticizing the critics--in his most timeworn and strident manner. "For the second time," said Lederman, "Guiuliani said that I am an 'environmental terrorist' in New York Newsday--but Giuliani is going to be confronted on the questions surrounding the malathione spraying and virus outbreak."
And Lederman himself is not letting up--in fact, he is using his heightened profile to bring the abuses of the Giuliani "regime" to a national audience.
"They may not be noticing now--but it is inevitable," said Lederman. "They will."You can visit Robert Lederman's web site for more information on his legal skirmishes with--and victories over--Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the City of New York.
