Troy City Officials Wield Building Code to Shut Down Game Art Exhibit
Troy City Officials Wield Building Code to Shut Down Game Art Exhibit
March 12, 2008
City officials in Troy, New York apparently used the municipal building code to shut down a controversial video game art exhibit.
As we've been tracking on GamePolitics, Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal, a faculty member at the Art Institute of Chicago, was invited to present at - and then abruptly booted from - Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute.
Following his RPI expulsion, Bilal's Virtual Jihadi exhibit was moved to the nearby Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy. On Monday night, a local Republican political figure, Robert Mirch (left), led a protest against Bilal's work outside the Sanctuary. Mirch, by the way, also happens to be the Public Works Commissioner for the city of Troy. In that capacity, he is responsible for enforcing building codes.
On Tuesday, as reported by the Albany Times-Union, the Sanctuary for Independent Media was shut down by city code enforcement officials. Sanctuary spokesman Steve Pierce told the newspaper:
They put us out of business. They said we had doors that were not up to code.
Pierce made additional comments to the Schenectady Daily Gazette:
The only thing different between the day before and [Tuesday] is we have an Iraqi artist protesting the war. The next day, the city sent code enforcement to us and we were cited.
City Councilman Bill Dunne said:
This isn't the first time that code enforcement has operated in a fashion like this. It certainly on the surface smacks of political retribution.
Kathy High, an RPI Arts professor, added:
I guess we could cycle through all of the art galleries in the city and have the city shut them all down. This will make people afraid to show the exhibit and that is very wrong.
GP: Whether you like Bilal's work or hate it, to see political officials in the United States wield the power of law to shut down controversial expression is scary stuff, indeed.
Comments
"Yes, we all see it that way, but if it went to court it would have to be proven."
They're not even trying to hide the bias.
-Last year the Sanctuary was cited for violating various codes and fire ergs after screening a film criticizing the mayor
-They were given 18 months (until this April) to fix the violations
-They've been doing construction for the last year to fix them
-They were told to not have "large" gatherings until the items were fixed
-But every time they've had a show, they've gotten city building code inspectors and fire marshals in to check that it's ok for the crowd they're expecting, including Monday morning (it was cleared for the exhibit)
-Monday afternoon, around Bob "Head Building Code Enforcer" Mirch's protest, the code dept "suddenly" received "numerous" calls complaining that the building was not up to code
-Without inspecting the building, the code dept called the Sanctuary and told them they were in violation and couldn't have a gathering
City council Democrats are apparently crying foul, and threatening to launch an investigation into Mirch's department for effectively selectively wielding the code inspections as a club.
Doesn't matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If it's done just how I say
Independence limited
Freedom of choice is made for you, my friend
Freedom of speech is words that they will bend
Freedom with their exception
- "Eye of the Beholder"
Apparently some aren't. There are a few councilors calling for an investigation into whether Mirch abused his position... Conflict of interest et al.
Nah, I don't goto Cornell, they just have one of the easier to use US Code libraries on the net. Most of the others have dodgy urls, cached results you can't link to, or have entire Chapters or Sections on one page.
Evils of porn? I'm not seeing the connection between porn, and someone making a political statement, only to have the banner of "Protected Freedoms." Besides despite the way American's show a consirvative image, Americans really do love porn.
I hate to tell people this but "Protected Freedoms" means that the freedoms we love are being stripped little by little in order to "protect the masses." This censorship is just using that banner to settle a personal vendetta.
Still, the controversy over this exhibit has a similar ring to it. So I wonder, (Greek definition of art as quoted by JT notwithstanding) if part of the modern critieria of determining wehther something is art is its potential to offend in this way, then I think video games could definitely be considered art now.
What concerns me most is why these officials are so scared of letting people hear the story from any perspective but their own?
These people should be ashamed.
With the Iraq war being as controversial as it is, any protest against it gets a sort of magnification it might not otherwise. Combine probably (unfortunately) a bit of racial profiling with a protest against the war, by a man from the country the war is in, and politicians begin to panic and try to keep people from seeing it. That, and it sounds like they have a strong Republican base there, who are sort of invested in having to support the war because of party lines.
That's part of why you see the term "un-American" thrown around, imo. It's an attempt to get people to buy in against their better judgement for fear of not being seen as patriotic. The funny thing is, to me, there is nothing more patriotic to America than standing up for what you believe in and flipping the bird to authority when they try to stop you.
Unfortunately, the law, which should be used as a shield, is all too frequently used as a club.
If the building code hasn't been enforced for a length of time and is suddenly an issue when a piece of expression that a member of city government has a problem with appears then it's selective enforcement and could be considered as a government official abusing his privileges in order to infringe on an individuals right to free expression. I say they sue the bigot Robert Mirch, the city and whoever else facilitated this blatant abuse of authority.
Actions like that are the last resort of the weak minded.
THIS IS CENSURESHIP! There is no question about it. When a critic of speech uses his political position to censure speech he does not agree with, he has opened himself up to lawsuits and firings.
I hope that SIM and Bilal take this guy to court.
You have to be freaking kiding me.
1984 it may not be, but read the article I posted. Code inspectors cleared the building the day of the exhibit, and only after the exhibit opened did they suddenly reverse position and insist that codes were being violated.
If I was those code inspectors and fire marshals, I'd be pretty cheezed the mayor's office stepped on my toes over a political stunt.
Supposedly the Sanctuary is appealing for help from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Albany chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. No word yet on if there's anything they can do.
Thats all I got to say about that.
I don't think most people would say that it's 1984, but I think that people are more than a little wary of the gov't starting to move in that direction. While I agree with you on what it's not, it seems like every now and then you see a move that seems to push the boundary a little more in that direction - the Patriot Act, to me, is one such move. This, I would say, comes down more to people swinging the "Show what I want or don't show anything" club. It's got a hint of moving in 1984ish directions, but I can think of several abuses off the top of my head that are much more 1984ish than this.
The opinion needed here is that of a lawyer (besides JT) who knows what kind of proof would be needed to show that maybe there is motivation other than just actual building code. Yes, we all see it that way, but if it went to court it would have to be proven. If there's a history of it, they might be able to show a recurring pattern, but if the building did actually fail their codes, then technically they're within rights.
I agree with you that it's total BS, but using technicalities is something few politicians are above.
What is up with New York these days?
Also it is completely unfair that Mirch can just throw his power around like that, it reminds me of a child who didn't get his way, he was like "Stop doing what you are doing, oh you won't well guess what your door violates building codes!"
All that was found wrong was with the doors. The doors could have been worked on and fixed without shutting the whole building down(and now I doubt they can even get the money to do that) but no, the ENTIRE building was shut down despite that there was nothing structurally wrong with it.
I won't call conspiracy either, but it seems ridiculous to shut down the entire exhibit for one problem that didn't even threaten any lives.
I haven't really had a chance to read through any of the links, or really pick apart GP's post in depth, so I didn't catch any of that - I'm kinda sporadically posting at work and trying to hide GP, I'm bein' all sneaky-ninja-like!
But thanks for posting that - I'd give that, to my non-legal mind, a pretty clear example of abusing the system and evidence of bias if that's the way they've gone about things. And I wasn't saying I disagreed with the decision to sue - far from it, actually. Just outlining what I could see as some of the possible hurdles to jump on that path.
I definitely agree this was driven by a petty, close-minded bigot who was abusing the system - just from my limited capability to peruse the links from work, I didn't know how systematic and clear-cut it could've been.
Majority Leader
Robert Mirch
(Conservative)
1600 Seventh Avenue
Troy, New York 12180
Phone (518) 270-2880
Fax (518) 270-2983
E-mail - rmirch@rensco.com
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Robert+Mirch%E2%80%99&meta=
I was considering that. I wouldn't do it from work though.
I love his web page:
I think I will fix that:
Fixed to:
Fixed to:
fixed to:
I do wonder if the building's doors really were not up to the code's standards.
I wonder if the Republican offices up in there are up to code? I think we should find out. We wouldn't want the fine bigots^H^H^Y^H^H^H^Hrepublicans be unsafe in their offices, you know.
But no - this jackass had to take things one step further and step over a Constitutional line. And yes, it does have to do with Constitutionality. Read:
"I guess we could cycle through all of the art galleries in the city and have the city shut them all down," High said. "This will make people afraid to show the exhibit and that is very wrong."
Chilling Effect: "A chilling effect is a term in United States law that describes a situation where speech or conduct is suppressed or limited by fear of penalization at the hands of an individual or group. For example, the threat of a costly and lengthy lawsuit might prompt self-censorship and have a chilling effect on free speech."
Fear of being targeted by the zoning commission, having your art space unable to hold gatherings until you (somehow) dredge up money to fix minor zoning code violations, all because you showed a piece of art that a person in government found objectionable? Yup, that sounds like a chilling effect, and that's a violation of the First Amendment.
Mirch deserves the legal retribution which is coming his way, via the ACLU. He could have let this go, and he chose not to.
Why stop there, do Republican and Democrat, they both do this kind of stuff when it suits them. (though I think it would be funnier to do a public place like city hall)
"I do wonder if the building’s doors really were not up to the code’s standards."
The Sanctuary admits they are not. They were cited for having 29" doors (code is 32") a year ago (the building itself is 108 years old). But they were given until mid-April of this year to fix it (among other things they were cited for), and could stay open as long as they didn't have any "large" crowds in the building. The issue is that building inspectors and fire marshals were called out to "clear" the building for the exhibit, and they did, until Mirch's department suddenly reversed policy and decided after the exhibit opened that it wasn't cleared after all.
In this case, however, it's been the republicans, specifically one Robert Mirch, who controls the city code enforcement, who's been doing this.
I wonder if HIS office is up to code.
No pun intended.
The doors? Seriously? He was able to shut them down over doors? OMFG! How does having doors that are 2-3 inches too narrow drastically endanger anyone now when it was not important enough to shut them down anytime in the last 14 months since they received the notice that the doors were too narrow?
If the weather is suitable (not bad enough to damage the electronics involved), they should move the exhibit outside, then the building becomes irrelevant.
It's not a conspiracy by any means. It's just one guy who happens to be in a position that allows him to abuse his power to hurt someone he has a political disagreement with.
@GoodRobotUs
Because if you make the "enemy" seem like human beings just like us, then you run the risk of the public being against the war due to the slaughter of civilians and not just because of the wasted tax dollars, and deaths/injury of American troops. Then support for the war would drop even more.
Forget the ACLU. Ring the FBI and have him arrested.
And I have to wonder, since he's apparently flush from success with this, if he might get it in his head to become a "crusader" as well. Who's to say he won't go after something else he doesn't like? After going after an independent artist, don't you think he might set his sights on bigger targets?
I'm not defending Troy city officials. This is clearly censorship because city officials used their authority to stifle free, legitimate expression. My point was that selective enforcement like this is an abuse of power and the city officials can be taken to task for it. You need to enforce laws for everyone or no one, you can't pick who and under what circumstances.
@ Davian2K5
I'm just bothered by people who constantly claim that any miscarriage of justice here in the States is paramount to the way things are in Iran/China because it does a disservice to the horrible conditions that many people live under in those regimes. When people who present viewpoints that oppose the government start disappearing you can claim that it's like being in Iran or China. When some low-rent local politician gets his panties in a twist over some kid's art exhibit and abuses what meager authority he wields to shut it down that's just some lone jackass showing his true colors.
1984 is the go-to comparison when any government figure does anything dubious and it's overuse decreases the value of the idea. I agree with you that the Patriot Act and, to a greater degree, the bullshit wiretapping law that Bush has a hard-on for are real examples of a 1984 Big Brother mentality creeping into our society. Again, though, some moron in Troy who's getting into a frothy rage over an idea is not an example of "1984."
Cornell FTW! :D
I guess you must go there. I have a friend I'm very fond of who goes there as well. I'm wondering if you may have run into her.
On a related note, I was reading some other articles on this matter and one person called the exhibit "un-American." Now, I want you to think about that for a moment. It is a word that MEANS 'not American," but rather then have the litteral definition, it is used and defined to people as something bad. Obviously 'American' = good and 'un-American' = bad. Guess what, he ISN'T AN AMERICAN. You know, other people in the world have an opinion on this was as much as we do. Are we the only ones that are allowed to express our opinions? Are people only free to express themselves as long as they are in agreement with the government?
In the end, the person who abused his power to shut down an exhibit he had a personal conflict with should be repremanded and the building should be given a period of time to fix it's code violations so that it won't interfere with the exhibit.
"My point was that selective enforcement like this is an abuse of power and the city officials can be taken to task for it. You need to enforce laws for everyone or no one, you can’t pick who and under what circumstances."
I understand, my point was that they were going even further than just selectively enforcing the rules. The Sanctuary had already called the Building Code department, and the fire marshals, and both had cleared the exhibit prior to it opening, even with the known code citation from last year (which was in the process of being remedied).
So Mirch was being doubly nasty. First to the Sanctuary, for showing a history of selectively enforcing code only when it suits him politically. And secondly, for basically insinuating that his own staff is a bunch of incompetent retards who can't be trusted to do a proper building code inspection. If I was on his staff I'd be pretty cheezed right now.
"the building should be given a period of time to fix it’s code violations so that it won’t interfere with the exhibit."
It was, when it was first cited. It had until this coming April to fix the issue of the doors (apparently minor demolitions are involved...), as long as exhibits above a certain crowd size got cleared with the fire marshal and building inspectors first. Which they did, until Mirch abused his position.
The taped conversation with the building inspector who shut them down apparently ignored that agreement, and stated that nobody was allowed in.
...Neoconservatism at it's finest.
Er, that doesn't happen in China. Surely, there is a humongous censorship problem, but what you say happens about as much as incidents like this one: a jackass flaunting his power. Unfortunately little can be done about such people here.
I hope that won't hold true for this case.
It really is something that a Republican would resort to the same sort of tactics the new communists in Kremlin are.
Point taken. Mirch's lunacy shouldn't last long, then.
@ Ashton
People have been disappeared by the Chinese government in recent memory. It might not be happening as frequently at the moment but it has happened, it does happen and it will happen again.
Even if that does happen as often as incidents like Mirch's abuse of power it is still too much. There is a huge difference between having some jackass local politician close down an exhibit and having a government in power that is willing to and has in the past removed people from society who promote alternate viewpoints.
Take a deep breath man, it's going to be ok.
"To whom it may concern,
I am deeply disturbed by the recent activities of your Public Works Commissioner, Robert Mirch. The citing of the Sanctuary for Independent Media building for building code violations yesterday, coincidentally the day after he led a public protest of an exhibit housed therein, smacks of political retribution and censorship. While he, or for that matter I, may not agree with the exhibitor, wielding one's position as a public official to censor free speech in the manner that Commissioner Mirch has done is at the very least unethical. I have to wonder if the city of Troy should remain affiliated with the great nation of The United States of America, where the last I checked free speech was protected by law and constitution, a fact that apparently has escaped the notice of Mr. Mirch."
For those interested, the URL of their feedback page is http://www.troyny.gov/contact_us.asp
The phone number of the Code Enforcement office is (518) 270-4584.
I definitely agree with you about that the Iran/China comparisons are completely inaccurate. The fact that people have the ability to make this hyperbole in a public setting is proof that we're not that bad. Unfortunately, it seems to be in the nature of many people to cling to certain phrases, like that comparison, 1984, or yelling that someone is a Nazi at something (Am I Godwin's Lawwing the convo. for pointing out it's overuse? Hrmm...)
Sounds like we're pretty much in agreement - some hyper-conservative jackass with sand in bad places censoring something doesn't compare to any of the afore-stated abuses.
Hopefully, the next news we see about Mirch is him leaving office.
Thankfully, so far, the court system hasn't let that happen. While I understand the sentiment, I do think it's a bit far-fetched so far. You're also looking at the difference between showing that exhibit in a public place, and playing a video game in the privacy of your own home.
I'm not defending the fact that the city shut down that exhibit - not at all, it was censorship and an abuse of free speech. But there is a distinct difference, in everyday life and I believe in legal opinion, between showing something in public and your own house.
Example: Run around naked in public, you're getting hit with public indecency/indecent exposure. Run around in your house naked, and it's just freaking fun.
By trying to censor the Bilal, they've just achieved to do the opposite...
I would like to express dismay at the actions of Public Works Commissioner Bob Mirch in unfairly applying building codes to the Sanctuary for Independent Media. It is no secret that the building needed repairs in order to meet code, but Sanctuary staff had been notified that they had until April to complete the repairs. Mirch's decision to strictly enforce the code just days after he personally lead a protest against one of the exhibits being held there smacks of bad intent, to say the least.
I urge the City Council, and other city officials, to take action on this matter and address Mirch's conduct. If this situation is not dealt with swiftly and decisively, the city of Troy will undoubtedly receive a great deal of bad publicity - and potentially even be the target of legal action - due to the actions of a single official's personal agenda.
I would love to think that submitting comments of protest to the Troy website would help. Unfortunately it seems that they condone his actions, as they used the same tactic to shut down criticism of their mayor. So I feel that any outrage sent through that method will fall on deaf ears and into the delete folder.
@ The Bobman
I am better now. Just had a Hulk moment there.
Can you name a few examples? I don't want to put you on the spot or anything, it's just that I've heard my share of baseless claims and whatnot about the country, and I'm lived here for a while and it's nowhere near what most Westerners attempt to make it out to be.
"Even if that does happen as often as incidents like Mirch’s abuse of power it is still too much. There is a huge difference between having some jackass local politician close down an exhibit and having a government in power that is willing to and has in the past removed people from society who promote alternate viewpoints."
Except my point was that, much like Mirch, this would be an act of an individual acting on his own. Most of the time when an alternate viewpoint is expressed it is silence in a rather obvious method (e.g. replacing that particular TV spot with an ad or something) but I've never actually seen anything like "This guy said something and the next day he's gone."
*munches on popcorn*
I personally want to see the ACLU take Bob Mirch to task. This simply is not right on many levels. Video game inclusions or not, this is simply not fair!
~Otaku-Man
You may be (read "are probably") right. However, that's why I came back here and posted. I was not looking for approval, or brownie points, or anything like that. I was hoping that others, such as Mr. Miner above, would follow suit. Hopefully sheer volume will at least turn a few heads...not everyone on the Troy City Council can be a complete maroon.
U think there was ever a time when USA wasn't facist?
Our legal system allows people in power to shut down pretty much anything they want. Philly has had repeated problems with alternative lifestyle spaces being shutdown via dubious 'building code violations' or 'business permit violations'.
"Mirch ... stated that he did not know the building had been closed to the public until he was contacted by several local reporters."
I wonder if he's just lying, or if someone else did it without his knowledge. It could be both that he had a lackey do it so that he wouldn't have to take the fall when/if a lawsuit is filed.
***
It also says, by way of politicians who are against the decision:
City Councilman Bill Dunne, D-District 4, noted that the administration had enacted similar code enforcement with past residents who had opposed their views, including Democratic counsel Victor DeBonis and city resident Jim deSeve.
“It looks like the city is using code enforcement officers as some form of political retaliation,” said Dunne, who noted that the City Council may be within their authority to subpoena code enforcement officers to inquire who sent them and why it was done on that day.
“The administration can put any spin on this they want, but this looks like censorship,” said Dunne, who believed there was a chance the city could be sued over the action.
Gift.
Good point.
I don't support the exhibit in any way, but as long as public funds weren't contributing to its display I don't have a problem with it being shown. This is nothing more than political bullying.
Civil Service Law §107 protects State employees from discriminatory practices based on their political affiliations.
* Employees’ appointments, selections to or removals from office or their employment status may not be affected or influenced by political opinions or affiliations.
* State employees may not use their State authority or official position to coerce, intimidate or otherwise influence other State employees to give money or service for any political purpose, to influence the political action of any person or entity, or to interfere with any election.
* State offices may not be used for soliciting or collecting any political contributions.
again long shot, but it does fall under the New York State Ethics Commission. If he wanted to send a minion out to do it, and claim he had no idea the closure had taken place, then he has to answer for why such an action was able to take place under his watch. I mean, the sudden lock-down of an independent art gallery within a 24-hour period after a political ousting at RPI over the same display should raise flags.
"State employees may not use their state authority or offical position...to influence the political action of any person or entity"
Good find, here's a link to that article.
Protesting peacefully is one thing. I agree with that because its just the people expressing their displeasure.
Using the law to shut someone down on a technicality is just an abuse of power.
I am glad that you sent the email. I wasn't trying to sound patronizing or anything. To me it seems that the corruption goes all the way to the top in Troy.
Surely it could help if enough people were to send in complaints. But to me it would not seem to be worth it.
For one, most of us are not residents of Troy.
Two, they seem pretty set in their ways and will be unwilling to change if there is not imminent danger to their political positions.
But by all means write them. It is better to speak out than to sit bakc and keep your mouth shut.
I hope the ACLU crawls all up into Troy. If they can freely use the code inspectors like a hammer, you can bet there's even more criminal activity going on in their local government.
I will have to make the mother of all F@#$-ups and assume you are agreeing with Mr. Mirch in his actions, no?
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/mar/12/0312_troy/
Ya know if we wanted to be politicaly correct we shut up. But even then some one would be offended. Things like this makes me sick that the US "The Land of the FREE home of the BRAVE" has become the land of the repressed under the banner of "protected freedom"
"Most just blow people’s brains out at the same time though."
Nah, first they put them through a show-trial, to set an example. Usually on charges of "corruption". THEN they blow their brains out...
I say that the government officials involved should pay out of their own pockets. They knew they were doing something wrong and still did it, the people shouldnt have to pay for their actions.
Unless you live in Cambodia during Pol Pot. It was Usally a knock on your door, question asked "Hi, did you go to school?" if yes THEN you were shot. If no then torture, false trial THEN shot.