NYCLU Opens Investigation of the NYC Parks Department.

The NYCLU investigation of the Parks Department comes in response to published reports that the department censored a condom display in Central Park. According to reports, Parks Department officials expressed “concerns” to a Central Park concessionaire that an artificial 35-foot tall pine tree covered in condoms in multi-colored wrappers that would have been displayed as part of a Words AIDS Day event sponsored by Levi Strauss & Company was inappropriate. Consequently, the Makkos Organization, the concessionaire at the Wollman Rink, canceled the event.

This action by the Parks Department is a direct violation of the Appellate Division ruling in Kalke v. City of New York, where the court held that the city’s ban on condom demonstrations in city parks violated the First Amendment.

A copy of the NYCLU letter to Parks Commissioner Henry Stern follows:

November 24, 1998

Hon. Henry Stern
New York City Department of Parks
The Arsenal
Central Park, New York

Dear Commissioner Stern:

We are writing to express our concern over the apparent censorship of a condom display in Central Park.

According to Parks Department Spokesman Edward Skyler, an artificial 35-foot tall pine tree covered in condoms in multi-colored wrappers that would have been displayed as part of a World AIDS Day event sponsored by Levi Strauss & Company, was deemed inappropriate. “What concerned us was the controversial nature of such a display in what is essentially a family setting,” Mr. Skyler told The New York Times. He said that the Parks Department communicated this “concern” to the Makkos Organization, your concessionaire at the Wollman Rink. Consequently, the Makkos Organization canceled the Levi Strauss event. If in fact what has been reported is true, this is a violation of the right of free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Moreover, the Parks Department’s response to the condom display flies in the face of the Appellate Division ruling in Kalke v. City of New York, where the court held that the city¹s ban on condom demonstrations in city parks violated the First Amendment. The court recognized that condom demonstrations are expressive activities that are entitled to constitutional protection. The display of condom packages to promote HIV prevention on World AIDS Day is equally protected.

This appears to be the latest in a series of disputes involving the regulatory regime at the Parks Department as it relates to First Amendment activities. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to review the full range of Parks Department regulations relating to First Amendment activity so as to ensure that the Department is in compliance with the First Amendment. It is our intention to conduct such a review and to communicate with you at the conclusion of our investigation.

Sincerely,

Norman Siegel
Arthur Eisenberg
Donna Lieberman