For over a month art vendors in Battery Park City have spent their mornings jockeying and fighting to get one of nine coveted “legal” vending spots. That scenario is now history, at least momentarily, thanks to Judge Martin Schoenfeld of Manhattan’s State Supreme Court.
Judge Schnoenfeld ruled last Thursday that the City Parks Department would not be allowed to enforce the rules governing designated spots. The injunction however was to last only until Monday, August 30.
Then on Monday, the temporary restraining order was affirmed again by state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling and will now last at least until September 7 when another hearing is scheduled.
The ruling however is not stopping the city from continuing to fight to enforce the rules. The city cites a previous federal court ruling stated the vendors’ First Amendment rights are not violated by the restrictions.
— John Bayles
