Results tagged “firstamendment”

Robert Joe Halderman, the former CBS News producer accused of extorting David Letterman for $2 million, appeared in court today, as his lawyer asked the judge to drop charges. Why? Because, attorney Gerald Shargel claimed,“There was no extortion. There was a screenplay for sale. There was a commercial transaction. Nothing more.”

Yesterday, NJ blogger surrendered to Connecticut authorities, who claimed his blog post incited injury to state lawmakers and a state employee (he promised to include their addresses) by urging readers to "take up arms and put down this tyranny by force" against them. According to the AP, Harold Turner was upset "over legislation that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches in Connecticut more control over their parish's finances." The bill was withdrawn in March, but Turner wrote on June 2, "It is our intent to forment direct action against these individuals personally. These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die." Turner's Blogspot blog was removed by Blogrer; Courant's Capitol Watch adds, "Turner, who has been identified as a white supremacist and anti-Semite by several anti-racism groups, hosts an Internet radio program with an associated blog." Turner's lawyer said the defense will focus on the First Amendment.

A few years ago, Staten Island resident Mamie Manneh was arrested for smuggling "smoked bushmeat"—skulls, limbs and torsos of "green monkeys and hamadryas baboons" (packed in a box marked "African dresses and smoked fish")—into the U.S. Her lawyers went to the First Amendment, explaining that Manneh's religious beliefs required to eat the contraband goods, with one lawyer telling the judge in 2007, it was "something like a seder ... you know, bitter herbs and that might have some reference to the Exodus or something along those lines." This past week, a judge struck down that argument: According to the Staten Island Advance, federal judge Raymond J. Dearie said that "Manneh's faith didn't bar her from applying for the permits need to import exotic foodstuffs or explain why she misled border officials." Additionally, Manneh is currently serving jailtime for running over a woman she believed was sleeping with her husband.

If you're a collector of KKK literature, Suffolk County has just been a bounty for you lately. For the third time in a month, the Klan has left some free periodicals--this time six-page pamphlets on terraces and driveways in Islip Terrace. The newsletter, known as The Klansmen's Voice, did not sound particularly controversial, calling on readers to "buy American" and inviting them to subscribe annually by sending a check to a Michigan PO Box. Since the flyering didn't occur on unsolicited automobiles, it is covered under the first amendment and not illegal. Elsewhere on Long Island this week, a murder case against Patchogue teenagers was charged as a hate crime and racist graffiti turned up on car windshields in Mastic.

Some funny new details emerged yesterday in the trial of the retired cop infamous for aggressively silencing noisy passengers on the Long Island Railroad. John Clifford stood accused of assaulting a woman whose hand he twice slapped in March 2007 after she tried to intervene in his scolding of cell-phone talker Nicholas Bender. And if Jerry Seinfeld is looking for material for his new TV series, he’s got all the fodder he needs in yesterday's courtroom farce:
• We already knew that in trying to shame Bender into getting off the phone, Clifford called him a “f—king faggot.” But what was so important that Bender had to prattle on despite Clifford’s admonishments? Just his cousin's kidney failure is all.
• Frequent LIRR commuter Donna DeCurtis testified against Clifford yesterday, telling the judge she’s "petrified" of him. In 2006, when DeCurtis brushed off Clifford’s instructions to pipe down, the former private eye said, “I know who you are. I know you have a daughter. I know where you live. I can make your life hell.”
• Clifford knows for certain when other passengers are being too loud because he brings a noise meter with him on the train. He says the MTA is supposed to restrict any noise above 70 decibels, but “when you’re talking across the car it goes to 80 decibels.”
• LIRR conductor David Carliovoch is well familiar with Clifford and testified that he’s “a pain in the ass.”
• In the end, the judge acquitted Clifford of all charges, dismissing most of the testimony against him because all but one of the witnesses had "an ax to grind."
• But before the ruling, the prosecutor said Clifford's behavior is like "a dog marking his territory. He is not a white knight. He is Darth Vader.”

Long Island Rail Road etiquette enforcer John Clifford – famous for his crusade against rude behavior during his morning commute – was in court yesterday to face charges stemming from a train altercation in March 2007. The retired cop-turned-lawyer stands accused of, among other things, slapping a woman who dared intervene while Clifford berated another passenger for talking loudly on his cell phone.

Yesterday, The Daily News printed an article that began, "A cop-bashing art exhibit at a taxpayer-funded museum in Brooklyn portrays the city's Finest as trigger-happy racists who have put bull's-eyes on the backs of black New Yorkers."

The strange case of the plucky former NYPD officer Arno Herwerth (who is from Long Island, natch) and his GETOSAMA license plate has gotten even stranger. This time the man with “Kill Bin Laden” crudely painted on his American flag themed minivan and a habit of attending Smithtown board meetings in a chicken suit has rejected the offer of the DMV allowing him to keep his plates, since they would not pay his legal fees.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League – a group that exists to promote Bill Donohue, er, prevent “virulent anti-Catholicism” – is leading a protest against Jerry Springer: The Opera, which will be performed at Carnegie Hall on January 29th and 30th and stars Harvey Keitel as Springer. The show chronicles Jerry Springer’s adventures in hell, where he's forced to host an outrageous talk show whose guests include Adam and Eve, Mary, Jesus, and, as his crowd “warm up” man, Satan.

Governor Spitzer may have identified himself as a steamroller in his attempts to accomplish certain executive tasks, but he's got nothing on the former federal prosecutor and Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. The NY Times has a colorful profile of the the former Mayor as a man who used his offices as bludgeons, crushing anyone who crossed him.

There are 9.3 million vanity license plates in the United States, but every now and then there is one person whose choice of to proclaim on his/her plates causes some problems. Typically, the problematic plate is weeded out thanks to the DMV’s “blue list”of banned letter and number combinations ranging from the obvious, like GOD, NYPD and POL1CE, to the less so, like 3M TA3. Still the NY State DMV’s online plate lookup allows for...

Hallelujah! Yesterday the judge presiding over the Reverend Billy case dropped the charges that claimed he harassed public officials. The Rev was arrested in June while reciting the First Amendment in Union Square during a Critical Mass ride which coincided with the protest of the proposed MOFTB rules. Turns out the prosecutors didn't meet their deadline to file papers explaining the arrest and its justification. The Reverend's (whose real name is Bill Talen) lawyer, Earl...

Over the weekend we pointed to a death at the Knitting Factory that the cops were deeming "suspicious." Yesterday it was announced that the man was Nicholas Phillips, an East Village resident. The Post reports:An East Village man who died of an apparent drug overdose at a Manhattan rock club has been identified, sources said yesterday. Nicholas Phillips, of East Ninth Street, was found unconscious in the bathroom of the Knitting Factory on Leonard Street...

Performance artist and activist Bill Talen, AKA Reverend Billy, has been raising hell in New York City for so long now it’s hard to imagine this town without him. Since first seizing his sidewalk pulpit in the late 90s to combat the Disneyfication of Times Square, the reverend has been consistently down with a host of local and international progressive causes. With the help of his raucous Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, he also puts on a hilarious and inspirational theatrical show. (Not to take anything away from Other Love, his quite moving solo piece.) November will see the release of a documentary concerning the cross-country travels of Reverend Billy and his choir, What Would Jesus Buy?, produced by Morgan Spurlock of Supersize Me fame. Tonight the Reverend brings his righteous lefty heat to Gothamist House; all are invited to come on down and testify.

Clifford is unapologetic about his bullying behavior, claiming that it's his first amendment right to berate people who annoy him and laughing as he describes the time he punched a woman in the face. The lawyer who got his degree after retiring from the NYPD on disability says "If I look like an ass, I look like an ass. I can't change who I am."

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline.

We received an email alert from the Sylvia Rivera Law Project about a clash between the SRLP and police officers last night in the East Village. Here is an excerpt of the SRLP's account:

On the night of Wednesday, September 26, officers from the 9th Precinct of the New York Police Department attacked without provocation members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and of its community. Two of our community members were violently arrested, and others were pepper sprayed in the face without warning or cause.

Continue reading "Community Group Members Question Cops, Only to Get Arrested and Pepper-Sprayed"

You may recall that Reverend Billy Talen was arrested in June for reciting the First Amendment in Union Square during a Critical Mass night protesting the proposed photography laws. We posted video of the arrest at the time, and Talen spent 20 hours in the Tombs charged with two counts of second-degree harassment.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is getting a lot of ink in our newspapers today after it was revealed that (A) he had requested a visit to Ground Zero - to lay a wreath, no less - and then shortly later that (B) the city had denied the request. Way to work fast, city agencies!

After years of legal wrangling, the Appellate Court has backed the College of Staten Island and says that the CUNY school can deny official status to fraternity Chi Iota. But the battle may not be over, as the brothers want to fight this at the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Holwell found that fast food restaurants do not need to make their calorie information more prominent. Last December, the Health Department had voted that national chain restaurants, which already have caloric information, should display that info on menus or menu boards. Naturally, the fast food industry protested, because it's very hard to order a Big Mac when it says "540 calories, 29 grams of fat"! And, crap, an Oreo McFlurry is 560 calories!

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a vessel in distress off Rikers Island in the East River, a dead body found in the East River off Roosevelt Island and Queens, and an industrial accident on 52nd Ave. in Queens.
• Confirming recent speculation, The New York Times is cancelling its TimesSelect initiative, in which people subscribed to read a number of columnists and other special online content.
• Mayor Bloomberg signed autographs, greeted courtroom personnel, and posed for a court artist's portrait, but was ultimately dismissed by one or both of the lawyers choosing from 40 potential jurors today. He did not take it personally.
• Norman Siegel is defending Rev. Billy, who was arrested on harrassment charges for reciting the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Union Square. Part of Siegel's strategy is to argue that the use of harrassment charges insinuates that there was some sort of romantic relationship between cops and Rev. Billy, as harrassment is normally reserved for "ex-boyfriend sexual stalkers and drunk husbands."
• The principal of a Manhattan public high school hosted a Santeria ritual at her school while no students were present. The officiant at the Afro-Caribbean religion's ceremony received school funds for other services and the assistant principle was asked to pay $900 towards the cost.
• Less than three-tenths of the money in a special fund dedicated to bridge and highway work was allegedly spent improving New York's infrastructure in 2004-2005. An upstate lawmaker claims that the money is being used to cover non-infrastructure general budget items.
• Brooklyn Heights Blog notes someone's complaint that on one of the hottest weekend days of the year, one may have to wait for hours to take a dip in a free public pool on the East River.
• Astronaut Photography of Earth includes an impressive shot of Brooklyn from space.

Last night, Picture New York held a First Amendment rally in Union Square to protest some wacky new rules the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcast. For instance, permits would be needed for a group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour as well as any group of five or more people who would be using a tripod for more than ten minutes. And did we mentioned the $1 million in liability insurance? While the rules are supposed to apply to professional filmmakers and photographers, many people are concerned that some amateur photographers and filmmakers would be targeted.

Last month Reverend Billy was locked up for reciting the First Amendment in Union Square. Tonight he returns with a troupe of others to speak out against the outrageous new law that would limit public photography and filming in New York.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fired Councilman Charles Barron's chief of staff Viola Plummer yesterday. Quinn had required Plummer to sign a letter agreeing to behave during meetings, after Plummer heckled Quinn during a meeting about street namings and made reference to an "assassination" of Councilman Leroy Comrie, but Plummer refused (she has maintained that she meant a "assassination" of Comrie's character and/or political prospects). And Plummer filed a $1 million racial discrimination suit against Quinn.

Saturday we posted about Reverend Billy getting arrested during Friday night's Critical Mass as he recited the First Amendment. The above is a video of how it went down. Each police officer involved is identified by the cameraman, and at the end you'll see Lt Daniel Albano, "one of the main architects of the recent NYPD crackdown on civil rights." That night Reverend Billy was in jail for 20 hours, and charged with harassment of a public official.

Reverend Billy was arrested and detained last night while reciting the First Amendment in Union Square. The police claimed his preaching it at this month's Critical Mass constituted "Harassment of a Public Official". The NYPD has a history of some controversial arrests at the Critical Mass events, and at last night's the number of police practically outnumbered the riders. From the press release we received:

It was finally Mayor Bloomberg, however, that gave him the boot this April. Only recently was he allowed back inside the press room, but as an uncredentialed observer. Martinez Alequin's publication has slimmed down to an online-only format and operates from Blogspot.com as "Your Free Press." He has been questioning––some might say heckling––public officials for 20 years. This spurs a broader look by the Times at what it takes to be a credentialed press member.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a power outage on Beach Channel Drive in Queens, a shooting on Hale Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting at East 157th St. and Cortland Ave. in the Bronx.
• The Gowanus Lounge has a post on the giant inflatable water slide that Thor Equities intends to erect at Coney Island. The slide manufacturer's web site advertises that when it comes to entertaining children "size does matter," so good luck explaining what the heck that means when you bring your kids.
• Seattle transplant Tricia Romano ends her run covering NYC's rhythm and flow for the Village Voice's "Fly Life" column. In a male-dominated scene, she was a rare distaff voice and we wish her luck on future endeavors, like writing features for the paper.
• Giuliani was heckled by activists at his birthday fundraiser, demanding to know more about his knowledge of the Twin Towers' collapse.
• A homeless panhandler has urged his court appointed lawyer to file a First Amendment suit after being arrested for begging in public and then reading about a similar case in the paper. The Times doesn't specify, but we suspect it might be the case of the panhandler who sued the city for $100,000 and won.
• Several Inwood, Manhattan high school students were injured when a car ran over a bottle of Drano, splashing them with its contents.
• It's getting down to brass tacks time in the wrongful death lawsuit centered around the killing of Malcolm Ferguson by a member of the NYPD seven years ago.
• Venerable talk show host Joe Franklin wants New Yorkers to help identify the cab that ran him down at 35th St. and 8th Ave. earlier this month.