New York City officials sidestepped their own application process for Black Lives Matter murals around the city, as Mayor Bill de Blasio once again faces backlash for prioritizing mural painting over running the city.
According to the New York Post, the mayor's administration is now facing criticisms of favouritism and for disenfranchising New Yorkers of their First Amendment rights for refusing to give the go-ahead to other proposals.
"We haven't said 'no' to people, we've said, 'If you want to apply you can apply but there's a process,'" de Blasio said at a press conference on Monday.
Our city isn’t just painting the words on Fifth Avenue. We’re committed to the meaning of the message. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/VE6MT80qDI
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 9, 2020
While other groups have had their efforts to paint murals stomped out—such as the pro-Trump group Women For America First who are now suing the city—multiple Black Lives Matter art pieces have gone up, including multiple roadway murals.
While other groups didn't get the green light, the Black Lives Matter murals did not even require approval.
"That is something that again transcends all normal realities because we are at a moment of history when that had to be said and done, that's a decision I made," de Blasio said.
"But the normal process continues for anyone who wants to apply," he added.
While de Blasio has insisted that the Black Lives Matter murals transcend politics, he helped paint a mural that stands on Fifth Avenue, directly in front of Trump Tower.
Civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel told The Post that de Blasio's excuses don't hold water, and would not stand in court. "Once you open the door and allow Black Lives Matter murals to be on the streets of New York, you can't now turn down Blue Lives Matter. That would be a violation of the free speech provision of the Constitution," Siegel told The Post.
President Donald Trump tweeted his own opinions on the murals, calling out the mayor for cutting the city's police budget by $1 billion while taking time out of managing the crime ridden metropolis to paint the streets.
"This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York," Trump said. "Spend this money fighting crime instead!"
....horrible BLM chant, “Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
"We are not denigrating anything. We are liberating Fifth Avenue," de Blasio said about the tweets.
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