April 6, 2000 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Brooklyn Museum of Art and New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani last week agreed to drop lawsuits against each other that were sparked by the museum’s controversial “Sensation” exhibit last fall.
The museum sued the city in October, seeking to restore the $7.2-million in city funds it receives each year. Mayor Giuliani had begun withholding the money in response to the exhibit, which he said contained artworks that were sacrilegious.
The city then sued the museum in state court, seeking to evict the museum from its city-owned building and to seize control of its board of directors.
In November, the judge presiding over the federal case ordered the city to continue providing money to the museum until the matter was resolved.
Under the new agreement, Mayor Giuliani and the city have agreed not to withhold or delay any funds they have pledged to the museum, nor to seek the museum’s eviction.
Mr. Giuliani also promised he would not punish the museum by suggesting that it receive disproportionately fewer funds from the city than any other cultural institution. In his current financial plan, Mr. Giuliani has proposed cutting all eight museums’ city support by 13.5 percent next year.
The city and museum will each pay its own legal fees.
Edward H. Able Jr., president of the American Association of Museums, said the settlement agreement “has reaffirmed the independence of museums in deciding the content they present.”
He said it “sends a clear message” that cultural institutions do not lose their First Amendment rights when they accept government financial support.
Daniel S. Connolly, a lawyer for the city, said the dispute touched off “an important debate about the responsibility public institutions have to the communities they serve.” He suggested that the conflict might have been avoided had there been more communication between the museum and city officials before the exhibit.
