A U.S. judge on Monday overturned a ban imposed by city officials and ruled in favor of a fashion company's right to hold a street party featuring graffiti artists painting mock subway cars.
The party, scheduled for Wednesday by designer Mark Ecko, had raised the indignation of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the plan for 20 artists to put graffiti on mock subway cars would incite vandalism.
But in Monday's ruling U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said the mayor's view went against the First Amendment.
"By the same token, presumably, a street performance of 'Hamlet' would be tantamount to encouraging revenge murder," he said in federal court in Manhattan. "As for a street performance of 'Oedipus Rex,' don't even think about it."
The judge said he was not suggesting the "actual painting of graffiti on subway cars is to be condoned" but that any heavy-handed censorship would fall hard on artists, "who frequently revel in breaking conventions."
Outside the courtroom, Ecko, 32, a former graffiti artist and founder of fashion company Ecko Unlimited, described the decision and the judge as "kinda cool."
"It (the event) should not be dismissed as easily as vandalism or inciting crime and was born from the fabric of the streets of New York," he said, while inviting the billionaire mayor to the party.
Alan Ket, 34, one of those who will paint one of the mock subway cars, said the street party, which will be open to the public, would be "an opportunity to see some of the artists people around the world call folk heroes."
Officials initially approved the event but pulled the permit last week when it drew Bloomberg's ire.
New York City spokeswoman Kate O'Brien Ahlers said the ruling was disappointing.
"We believe that the city's denial of a permit to an exhibit which glorifies criminal activity was proper and should have been upheld," she said.
Ahlers said officials were considering an appeal.
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