Judge orders Ecko to PAAARTY!
Rakoff says Ecko, good to go.
The recent litigation-bound argument between designer Marc Ecko and New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg has ended – with a judge ruling in favour of Ecko.
Initially, Ecko threatened to sue after Bloomberg attempted to ban his party, designed to feature graffiti artists decorating model subway cars, in parallel to Atari's forthcoming related graffiti-based title, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. Bloomberg objected, saying the event would encourage vandalism and that it was no more than a vehicle to promote the videogame, rather than a legitimate art performance.
However, Manhattan federal court Judge Jed Rakoff has ordered the city to allow the party, as the denial of it was a "flagrant violation" of First Amendment rights. Judge Rakoff went on to say Bloomberg's objection was the equivalent of suggesting, "a street performance of Hamlet would be tantamount to encouraging revenge murder."
Ecko's The Getting Up Bloc Party will proceed on August 24th in New York, while Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure will be released on PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, and mobile phones later this year.