De Blasio admits city skipped permit process to paint BLM murals
By: juliakmarsh (New York Post)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
City officials ignored their own application process for public art projects to paint Black Lives Matter murals around the five boroughs, in order to mark an important moment in history, Mayor Bill de Blasio said as his administration faces claims of First Amendment violations for refusing to green-light other proposals.
“We haven’t said ‘no’ to people, we’ve said, ‘If you want to apply, you can apply, but there’s a process,'” de Blasio said during his City Hall press briefing Monday.
The pro-President Trump group Women for America First has sued City Hall for blocking a mural of their slogan “Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering Women to Make a Difference!” on a Manhattan roadway, while allowing multiple BLM paintings throughout the city.
Hizzoner insists he didn’t block the move, just referred groups like Women for America First and the pro-police Blue Lives Matter to the Department of Transportation’s permitting process. But there was no approval required for the BLM movement.
“That is something that again transcends all normal realities because we are at a moment of history when that had to be said and done, that’s a decision I made,” de Blasio said.
“But the normal process continues for anyone who wants to apply,” he added.
When asked about the application criteria, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg was vague.
“Anyone can apply through our public art program. As the mayor has said, the city does have discretion as well on painting those projects,” Trottenberg said.
De Blasio has said the BLM protest movement “ transcends any notion of politics ” even though he painted the most prominent BLM mural directly in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.
But civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel predicted de Blasio’s argument won’t hold up in court.
“Once you open the door and allow Black Lives Matter murals to be on the streets of New York, you can’t now turn down Blue Lives Matter. That would be a violation of the free speech provision of the Constitution,” Siegel told The Post.
Oddly, it took city officials a full week to clean graffiti off the BLM mural in front of Trump Tower after a vandal threw paint on it.
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa attributed the delay to the mayor’s notoriously short attention span.
“City Hall doesn’t seem to care any longer about this BLM logo. The mayor seems to have ADD on this matter, like he does most matters in NYC,” Sliwa said.
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