THE FIGHT FOR FREE SPEECH IN CENTRAL PARK *Lawsuit update*

THE FIGHT FOR FREE SPEECH IN CENTRAL PARK
*Lawsuit update*

For Immediate Release: May 18, 2005

Contact: Sarah Sloan, Brian Becker
202-544-3389 x14, cell: 202-904-7949

Faced with a federal lawsuit that originally exposed and is seeking to
prevent the City of New York's plans to privatize Central Park
and banish mass assembly protest from Manhattan, the City is speedily
moving to cover its tracks and push through "new regulations." The
City Council and the Parks Department are holding hearings this week
on the proposed new regulations. The proposed regulations limit
assemblies on the Great Lawn to 50,000 people and only six events per
year will be permitted with four slots already pre-reserved for
corporate-sponsored and Bloomberg-approved assemblies of the
Philharmonic and Opera. In short, Central Park would be off limits for
First Amendment protected mass demonstrations. Everyone who believes
in Free Speech rights in New York and across the country should join
in and support this struggle.

The attempt to set new regulations is a thinly veiled political
maneuver to shield the City's contradictory legal and factual
positions that were originally uncovered and are being exposed by
litigation filed last summer prior to planned protests coinciding with
the Republican National Convention. The Partnership for Civil
Justice and the National Lawyers Guild filed the lawsuit on behalf of
the National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) and the A.N.S.W.E.R.
Coalition.

NCA and A.N.S.W.E.R. initially brought this lawsuit last summer during
the Republican National Convention when the City of New York denied
the right of the Arab-American and Muslim communities and the anti-war
movement to come together in solidarity on August 28 to stand up for
civil rights and civil liberties on the Great Lawn of Central Park.
This was the anniversary of the historic 1963 civil rights March on
Washington.

Mayor Bloomberg Tries to Dodge Deposition

At the same time that the City is moving to adopt these
unconstitutional regulations, the City's attorneys are trying to
shield Mayor Bloomberg from answering questions under oath in a
deposition by our attorneys. The City has announced that it is seeking
a protective order so that Mayor Bloomberg, who was happy to speak to
the media opposing Free Speech activity in Central Park while he
demonized protestors, is now unwilling to explain and defend the
City's position in a constitutional rights challenge.

Federal Lawsuit Continues Background

The Federal lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to prevent the City
from closing off the Public Parks from mass protest and other free
speech activities. The Central Park litigation's Complaint and
Memorandum of Law have been posted online and are available at
http://www.JusticeOnline.org. The case is being litigated by constitutional
rights attorneys Mara Verheyden-Hilliard and Carl Messineo of PCJ and
Carol Sobel, all also on behalf of NLG Mass Defense.

Parks Department Hearing Friday

Show your support for freedom of assembly in New York City Parks at
the Parks Department hearing on Friday, May 20 at 11:00 am.
The hearing will be held at the Chelsea Recreation Center located
at 430 West 25th Street. You can sign up as a speaker when you arrive
at the hearing.

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A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
1247 E St. SE Washington DC 20003
(202) 544-3389 Fax: (202) 544-9359
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org