Richmond City officials have declined to comment on concerns raised last week by the ACLU of Virginia about free speech protections in a Monroe Park controlled by a private nonprofit.
Richmond City officials have declined to comment on concerns raised last week by the ACLU of Virginia about free speech protections in a Monroe Park controlled by a private nonprofit.
In an open letter sent Wednesday to City Attorney Allen L. Jackson and members of Richmond City Council by Legal Director Rebecca Glenberg, the civil liberties advocacy group questioned the leasing of Richmond’s oldest public park to the Monroe Park Conservancy as part of a $6 million deal to renovate it with a mix of public and private funding.
City Council voted unanimously last month to approve a 30-year-lease to the nonprofit for an annual rent of $1.
“As public space becomes increasingly scarce, it is essential that we maintain public parks as forums for expression,” said Claire Gastañaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, in a news release.
The ACLU questioned Jackson about how policies concerning rallies, leaflet and petition distribution and other civic activities would be regulated, since the lease gives the Monroe Park Conservancy the right to craft its own rules for the park.
“Failure to treat Monroe Park as a public forum will expose both MPC and the City to costly litigation,” Glenberg warned in the letter.
Jackson said he didn’t know of any “Use Policies” submitted to the City by the Monroe Park Conservancy, which the ACLU letter requests.
City Council President Charles Samuels, who spearheaded the renovation of the park in his district, had no comment on the letter, which he deemed “reaching for publicity.”
