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A New York City street artist known for fighting restrictions regarding how to display and sell his work in Union Square lost a fight Wednesday in the 2nd Circuit, where decades earlier he had licensing requirements declared unconstitutional.
Robert Lederman, the founder of Artists’ Resistance to Illegal State Tactics (ARTIST), said one year ago police arrested him 44 times for challenging policies he calls unconstitutional.
Prosecutors have allegedly never been able to convict him. In a challenge to former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s “quality of life” campaign, for example, Lederman once won the right to hawk art on the steps of the Capitol Building without a permit.
Lederman and his colleague Jack Nesbitt also filed a lawsuit in 2010 that claimed New York City had “waged a counter-movement to quash” the advances they had made in their First Amendment battles.
The suit accused New York City of showing favor to city-sanctioned vendors around Central Park, the Union Square Greenmarket, and Holiday Markets at Columbus Circle and Union Square.

This remarkable photo looks west on 14th St. from Union Square in 1898. Isn’t it amazing how many buildings, including our own, still stand? The Lincoln statue is now inside the park.

Communication network City24/7 launched its first “SmartScreens” booths today at ten locations around Union Square. The 32-inch touch screens are affixed to phone booths, and provide users with location-based local news, transit updates, current events, and entertainment listings like restaurants and shops for free. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the system is also providing information on volunteer opportunities. Over the next few months, a total of 250 screens will be installed throughout the city. The ATM-strength screens can withstand extreme weather, and they include back-up batteries if power is lost. City24/7 is responsible for the installation and upkeep for the booths, which also have free wifi.

Here are the details.

Say sayonara to Sumile Sushi on 13th St. near 7th Ave. Started out as super high-end Japanese and morphed into expensive sushi. It always seemed overpriced, even before the recession. Here’s hoping something new and interesting will take over the space.