ALF ALERT 011

ALF ALERT 011

Recently ALF met with TERRENCE REIDY the city mgr. for Asbury Park.  Mr. Riedy was made "aware' of the existence of ALF and it's objectives. 

At that meeting the mgr. informed ALF  that the city council was meeting May 5, 2011 to discuss the issue of performers vs vendors on the boardwalk.

As with Mr. Riedy ALF  sent a prliminary e-mail to  the council members out lineing our position on the matter.

At the May 5th meeting Capt Flash addressed the city council.  They were made aware of the existence of ALF and it's objective to have the city declared a

'CULTURAL SANCTURARY'

Councilman Loffredo said....

"....sound like a good idea to me".

ALF now intends to begin to lobby city council to support our goal.

So that it can be accessed by anyone and doesn't have to be repeated the objective of this post will be to clarify issues.

ALF'S BEGINNING

Where. when and why

Last spring the so called arts group ARTSCAP held a meeting to plan for thier arts festival in Sept of 2010.  They met at the theater across from Parlor Gallery.  Dennis Carrol was the moderator.  They called for suggestions.

I had anticipated this and presented a paper (available upon request) stating my qualifications, including extensive travels and thirty plus years as a street artist beginning in Paris, France in 1981. I have a six page reusme' available upon request.

The first thing I called for was the "de-criminilzation" of art in Asbury Park.

In addition to doing qwick sketches and portraits I am a famous "street performance artist"  I do an act called the "Last Hippy".

Currently someone is making a movie of me.  We already shot the first part in time Square.  If you would like to see me, go to YouTube;  Channel> CaptFlash881 and look for the title "Spoletto 2005"  I performed at Charleston. SC's cultural festival.

I also made some suggestions.  They were:

A chalk fest

A buskers fest

A doo-dah parade

and

art shows

Many people said I was right on and they were good ideas.

I thought to myself...I wonder how many of them would be acted upon. I had the feeling that if anything happened it would probably take forever.  That's when the idea of a splinter group within ARTSCAP occured to me.  A factional split if you will.

My instincts were right.  They were all ignored.  It was a charade, a farce...just like ARTSCAP itself.

We were all being played for fools.

In the course of discussions with people about this ARTSCAP has been described as a charade, a farce, a circle jerk..

......a front for the gay mafia.

They claim to be a coalition....of what?  They probably don't have more than a dozen members.

Here at ALF they are called ARTSCRAP

LEGAL ISSUES

As stated I am a performance artist.  I decided to test the legal waters in Asbury Park.  On a first Sat. I put on my costume and hung around outside BIRD the gallery.  I had 

work on display in there at that time.

It wasn't long before Ofc. Dana Parcels thought he had caught Charlie Manson himself.

He rushed up to me and said...pan handling, five hundred dollar fine.

Totaly absurb not to mention a complaint or shred of evidence.  My daughter works for the top salon in the city and has done Laura Bushes hair.  My son in-law is the co-owner of a brokerage firm in the city.  His name is Phillip Michals.  The Michals are a long established family having owned numerous busnesses in the city for years.

I have no criminal history, not even points on my license.

Can the police make up any lie they want?  Next he said he had a complaint.  Even tho he had seen me before when I took off my disguise and told him this is theater I'm actor and have art on exhibit in the gallery twenty feet away he wouldn't buy it.  I left.

ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS

First off I am an artist.  My performance art is an expression of my art.  Therefore it is protected speech under the first amendment.  Ofc. Parcel does not have the right to prohibit it.

The business of anonymous complaints also is a violation of my right to face my accuser in court.  Even if he did have a complaint, if he didn't have a signed complaint he didn't have any complaint at all. 

What he was, was an inadequate bully hiding behind a gun and a badge.  The correct course of action would be to issue a summons.  Even if he did issue a summons I still would not have to move until the complaint was adjudicated in a court of law.  My right to due process.

What he did was illegal.  A crime called abuse under the color of authority.

To explore this a little further if a merchant complains that I was "scaring customers away" that is not a statement of fact. How doe's he know those people did not come into his store because of me.  they must testify in court where I can cross examine them.

If the merchant claims he loss business because of me.  I'll say prove it.  How do you know those people were going to spend money and how much? (Ugly is not a crime)

Some time later I was in America's Cup.  There had been some sort of confrontation.  The people summoned Ofc.Parcel.  I over heard him say,...unless he had witnessed the confrontation there was nothing he could do about it.  What is selective enforcement?  Is it legal?

I went and spoke with Chief Kinmon.  Explained who I was and what I was doing.  He said...I will not run you off.

I told him he had to convey that information to the ofc on patrol.

I again decided to test the waters.  I went to the boardwalk just on the South side of the convention hall.

Primarily I stand still and pretend I'm a statue. It's called mime. I wasn't there ten minutes when some people who had

 seen me perform at Mallory Square in Key West came up and started talking to me.  While they were talking a couple of the

summer officers came up an inquired what I was doing.  When the people who had seen me in Florida talked to them they seemed satisfied and left.

Within minutes they returned with Ofc Chris Brady who gave me a get out of here thumb and said, not on my pier.

There seems to be a question of who owns the pier.  Is it Madison-Marquette, Asbury Park or officer Chris Brady who brought his ego to the job and let the power of the badge and gun rush to his head.

Apparently Chief Kinmon wouldn't run me off but Chris Brady could.  Makes ya' wonder who's in charge up there?

Later when I talked to the Chief about this he said Brady claimed I was so tomultous that I had met the requirements for disturbing the peace.

Again no witness, no evidence, just lies.

Kay Harris of the Galleria in the convention hall was an officer in ARTSCRAP.  Her and Carrol Senavitas arranged for me to exhibit my art work in ARTSCRAP space, downstairs in the arcade.

It had to be re-scheduled because apparently someone else was working on the same thing at the same time.  It ended up being sceduled for the month of Sept 2010 to co-incide with ARTSCRAP arts festival.  Even tho I repeatedly asked to be notified well in advance I wasn't informed until a week before.  To late to do any pre-publicity, effectively sabatoging the show.  I was notified on Sat. Sun. I submitted the requested material for thier site.  On Tues I checked to see if it was up.  Four days before the show it wasn't even on thier site.

When they did post it they left out days and hours it would be open, further sabatoging the show. The only person that attended from ARTSCRAP was Carol Senavitas.

The next to the last day they turned my show into a work room and didn't even open thier own gallery on the last day of thier arts festival which was a major flop.

They had two blocks cordoned off for seven artist.  Should have listened to me.

Since then ARTSCRAP has gone into a decline under Dennis Carrol.  They no longer post thier weekly events calender and have closed up thier space in the Arcade.  If you ask me DC is in over his head and is dis-organized and should re-sign.

Someone who knows said there is a dis-connect there.  Big time.

I have three books out.  One of them is a photo documentary about night time cab driving in L.A. in the 70's  I presented him with a copy of this at an ARTSCRAP meeting for another author's book.  Even tho he theoritically is the curator for photography for Heaven (The Gallery) he didn't make the connection (fuzzy head) and never looked at it.  He told me that they had to be submitted as JPEGs another bullshit excuse.  How would anyone know that?

When I wrote him about the trouble with the police he said he spoke with Kinmon and that I was cleared to do my performance piece.  Then he went on to slander me, claiming there had been many complaints (A lie) and someone he trusted had witnessed my performance and described a lot of stuff that never happened. That letter is available upon request.  Then flippantly stated he was done with this and would no longer discuss it.

ALF would like to have AP declared a

 CULTURAL SANCTURARY

The Venice Beach of the East.

A place where a musician/performer can put down a hat with out a license and/or paying a fee/tax.

Considering that AP is promoting 'musical heritage" It would be a glaring contradiction to prohibit a musician from making music near the Stone Pony and in the shadow of nine-eleven denieing a citizen the right to do what they want with thier money by giving him some as a token of thier appreciation.

ALF would like the whole city to be opened.  Specifically like Venice Beach in L.A. the ocean side of the boardwalk declared a

FREE CULTURE ZONE.

CHALK FEST

Google that up.  The new side walks are perfect for it.  Musical heritage could be the theme.  In the age of camera phones people appreciate "camera candy"

Prizes could be awarded and it would disappear with the first rain.  Nothing is forever.

BUSKERS FEST

Busking is the term used to describe when musicians play on a corner.   Prizes could be awarded

Doo-Dah Parade

The day before the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena there is a Doo-Dah parade.  This is an anything goes parade.  It would be an opportunity for the gay community to come out in drag.

I would schedule it for the hottest part of the summer.  Maybe the last day of the holiday.  It surely would bring welcomed media attention.

In addition we would like to see the casino do weekly art shows.  The space between the casino and Stella Marina become a performance space for the entertainment of the diners.

ARTSCRAP SUCKS
NATURE ABHORS
A VACUUM
ALF
FILLS A
CULTURAL
VOID