Mayor Robert Wagner acted today to seek an appeal from the New York Court of Appeals from the Appellate Division ruling that George L. Rockwell, self-styled American Nazi, had the same right as any other citizen to make a public speech in a park.
The Appellate Court, by a four to one decision, upset yesterday a ruling last August by State Supreme Court Justice Henry Epstein in which he refused to order New York City Park Commissioner Newbold Morris to issue a permit to Rockwell, who wanted to stage a rally in Union Square Park last July 4.
The Appellate Court ruled that Rockwell’s constitutional right to free speech had been infringed by the city’s refusal to give him a permit because of the possibility of violence. Mayor Wagner said today he would order Corporation Counsel Charles H. Tenney to appeal the Appellate Court decision.
Rockwell today sent a telegram to Commissioner Morris asking for a permit to hold a rally in Union Square at 10 a.m. May 1. He said he would bring 50 or 60 uniformed “storm troopers” with him. He added that he would be “scrupulously careful” in speaking May 1 to say nothing “that could be termed insulting” if he obtained a permit. At the same time he indicated that he would discuss “the race issue and anti-Communism” and “the overwhelming Jewish participation in Communism.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
