I sent two messages today to Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York for the sake of Takeshi Miyakawa. Imprisoning a person for an indefinite period for a misunderstood art project is cruel, wasteful and sadly indicative of what life in New York has become.
I hope that Miyakawa-San will be freed quickly, but the conversation about this incident will be prolonged. Feeling safe on New York streets is dependent upon being secure in one's civil rights.
An artist is the victim today, but there are many other less fortunate people lost in the justice system without a compelling story hook to get them attention from the outside. It's the responsibility of the courts to protect citizens from the misapplication of laws created to keep them safe.
Call a bag a bomb and something will blow up, judge. No, not literally, I hope. But courts that can't be trusted endanger us all more than any external threat ever can.
SIGN A PETITION
Criminalizing artistic expression in defiance of all common sense and spending the city's money to detain an innocent person rather than to help those in need? Two wrongs make one egregious wrong that says much about the culture of governance in this city. Make New York residents feel safe again: Free Takeshi Miyakawa!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/525/661/531/demand-justice-for-artist-takeshi-miyakawa/
WRITE THE MAYOR
Dear Mayor Bloomberg:
I am writing to request your intervention in the case of Takeshi Miyakawa, an artist currently being detained for a project honoring our city. His arrest and subsequent treatment by the court are not simply an injustice, but also a gross waste of the city’s limited financial resources.
Mr. Miyakawa’s incarceration sends an unequivocally negative message to creative professionals living in this city, as well as to highly skilled immigrants in all professions who might choose to make New York their home. A simple misunderstanding that may involve a minor civic infraction should not result in loss of personal freedom and mandatory psychiatric evaluation. Artists working in New York face enough hardship; they should not have to fear that creative expression will be frivolously criminalized.
Moreover, economic resources that could be used to support education, senior care, or other essential services, are squandered when a case like this is not swiftly and sensibly adjudicated. Even viewed in the most absurdly pejorative light, this act of artistic expression (in conjunction with a design event generating revenue for NYC) could at worst be labeled vandalism, but even so, the so-called perpetrator is the epitome of a nonviolent offender. Takeshi Miyakawa does not belong in the custody of the state.
Please take all measures at your disposal to facilitate Mr. Miyakawa’s release and clear him of any pending charges. Please also consider the negative consequences that overzealous application of “broken windows theory” policing can have on civic life in a place that aspires to maintain its renown as a creative world capital.
Respectfully,
Justin Neely
