Nothing rosy about toilet garden
Reprints
It is said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But what about old toilets?
Attorneys for the village of Potsdam, New York, on Monday moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed in federal court in August over several “toilet gardens” belonging to a man who sees the bouquets-in-commodes lining his properties as an expression of art.
Frederick “Hank” Robar filed a complaint alleging that the village had violated his rights under the First and 14th Amendments to the Constitution as well as the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 when the Board of Trustees ordered him to remove all bathroom fixtures from each of his seven properties, according to a news report on NNY360.com.
Mr. Robar argued that he is being unfairly targeted by the village and that his many toilets are a protected form of art and protest and is requesting at least $7 million in damages from the village, according to the report.
The village argued in papers filed Monday that Mr. Robar and his “porcelain protest” were not specifically targeted last year when it adopted a “junk storage law” and, therefore, it is not a First Amendment violation, according to the report.
