Sheppard Mullin Reaches Settlement with City of New York on behalf of Artists in Action to Enforce their Rights Under the Visual Artists Rights Act
Sheppard Mullin has helped internationally acclaimed artists Kit-Yin Snyder and Richard Haas reach a settlement in connection with their lawsuit against the City of New York commenced in May 2022 under the Visual Artists Rights Act (known as “VARA”) to preserve their public artwork originally installed on or around New York City’s Municipal Detention Center as part of the City’s Percent for Art Program in the late 1980s. The Municipal Detention Center is being demolished and rebuilt as part of the Borough Based Jail and Mr. Haas’ and Ms. Snyder’s artwork, which were given the Art Commission Award for Excellence in Design in 1988, were an unfortunate casualty. The settlement makes way for the parties to move forward collaboratively to incorporate the artwork again in the new development, and reinforces the City’s obligations to preserve, recreate and honor Ms. Snyder and Mr. Haas’ legacies and their contributions to the community of the Lower East Side and Chinatown.
It was our honor to represent these renowned artists and to protect and preserve their historic artworks for the continued enjoyment of future generations in Chinatown and the Lower East Side.
The legal team from Sheppard Mullin was led by partners Robert Friedman and Daniel Brown, and associates Emily Anderson, Chloe Chung and Nina Orteza (pending admission).