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Chalk Artist Is Suing City For $1 Million
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 26, 2010
Modified Nov 26, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 26, 2010
Modified Nov 26, 2010
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Not to point fingers, but after six-year-old Natalie Shea was busted for chalking up a sidewalk back in 2007, it's been rough going for the rest of the city's chalk artists. The (adult) chalk artist Ellis Gallagher has been arrested three times since then, and now he's fighting back by bringing the NYPD to court. All summonses have been dismissed, but he's now suing the city for $1 million as a punishment to the force that forced him behind bars for a legal art form, according to the Brooklyn Paper.
Gallagher has recently moved to Williamsburg from Cobble Hill “because of so much harassment from the 84th and 76th precincts.” But is the chalk art legal? City law doesn't give a definitive answer—it states that sidewalk chalk can be deemed “graffiti” if it's not consented to by the property owner. However, Gallagher's attorney says there must be an "intent to damage"—and, well, what damage can chalk really do? (Ellis's fire tagging, on the other hand, wouldn't fare so well in the courtroom.)
While Gallagher would make some nice bank with the $1 million, his lawyer—Paul Hale—says that figure was chosen in an effort to change the system and put a halt to future illegal summonses—ot to put it in his own words: "The only way to stop the city’s blatant and illegal activity is by going for the pocketbook.” And he should know—the last time he helped Ellis sue the city it was for a paltry $5,000. At the time, the artist told us, "I was arrested for chalking the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk which is 100% legal in New York, so in essence my constitutional and civil rights were violated. I, in turn, sued the NYPD and the city and was granted a check from the comptroller of the city of New York for 5G. I paid off a couple credit cards with it."
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chalk
Ellis G
Ellis Gallagher
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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