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NYPD Arrests Artist Who Installed "I Heart NY" Bag For Planting False Bombs
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 20, 2012
Modified May 20, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 20, 2012
Modified May 20, 2012
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The artist who was installing the "I Love NY" bag that caused a bomb scare in Williamsburg on Friday was arrested early Saturday morning while he was installing an identical work in Greenpoint. 50-year-old Takeshi Miyakawa, who lives in Brooklyn, was arrested at the intersection of Bedford, Lorimer, and Nassau, and charged with planting false bombs. At his arraignment this morning, Miyakawa was ordered to be held for an additional 30 days for a mental health evaluation by Judge Martin Murphy, despite the prosecution's request to fix bail.
Louis Lim, a designer and artist who works with Miyakawa and calls him a "mentor and second father," was present for the arraignment, and said that Miyakawa was "polite, calm, and presentable. I don't know why the judge did this." Lim says that Miyakawa created the installation for Design Week, and that Miyakawa was planning on taking them down on Monday. Lim adds that Miyakawa created similar installations two years ago using LED lights in a chair and that "people loved it."
"All his installations are non-evasive. He doesn't drill into things," Lim says. "I think the police have removed all of them. We had no idea that his designs were being misinterpreted at this level. And if anything he does offends or bothers anyone, Takeshi always apologizes profusely. He's very traditional that way."
But according to the person who made the complaint on Friday, the issue wasn't that Miyakawa's art appeared to be a bomb, but how they were going to get it off the tree. "I called 311 asking how to get that thing off my tree, if it was my responsibility or the city's…the 311 woman put me through to 911 then the cops came. I left for work," they wrote via email.
Lim says that the police told Miyakawa that they had to charge him with planting false bombs, because that's what the initial complaint was. "I'm almost positive that's the complaint [the police] were going on." Miyakawa's attorney, Deborah Blum, confirms that he was charged with two counts of placing a false bomb or a hazardous substance, reckless endangerment, placing a false bomb or a false substance in the 2nd degree, and criminal nuisance in the 2nd degree, and that she plans on filing a writ of habeas corpus tomorrow. A request for comment has not yet been returned by the NYPD.
"Takeshi loves New York, he loves this city, he loves design," Lim says. "Whether it's because of the economy, or all the terrorist scares, or whatever, there's so much negativity in the air. We as designers and artists are desperately trying to pull people back from that. He was trying to bring a little bit of joy into their lives." Lim adds, "I think it's incredibly sad."
You can see photos of the installations as they were being created, as well as photos of Miyakawa installing them below.
Tagged
art
bomb scares
crime
nypd
williamsburg
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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