Adams v. City of New York

226 F. Supp. 3d 261, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177455, 2016 WL 7413520
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedDecember 22, 2016
Docket15cv6741(DLC)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 226 F. Supp. 3d 261 (Adams v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adams v. City of New York, 226 F. Supp. 3d 261, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177455, 2016 WL 7413520 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

DENISE COTE, District Judge:

This case arises from the arrest of Michael Adams (“Adams”) on November 16, 2014, during his protest against the demolition of a Harlem landmark. Adams has sued the City of New York (“City”), Police Officers Jason Castillo (“Castillo”) and Daniel O’Neill (“O’Neill”), and Sergeant Michael Vento (“Vento”) for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and violation of his First Amendment rights. The plaintiff and defendants both move for summary judgment under Rule 56, Fed. R. Civ. P. For the reasons that follow, the defendants’ motion is granted.

Background

The following facts are undisputed or taken in the light most favorable to Adams, unless otherwise noted. Adams authored a book on the architectural history of Harlem, and has long sought to preserve historically important buildings in Harlem. On Sunday, November 16, 2014, at about 10:00 a.m., Adams went to the Renaissance Ballroom and Casino (“Renaissance”), which was located on 7th Avenue between 137th and 138th Street in Harlem, to protest its planned demolition. Adams was the sole protester, although photographer Antwan Minter (“Minter”) attended to document the protest. The Renaissance was located next to the Abyssinian Baptist Church (the “Church”), and around one hundred and fifty tourists visiting the Church were on the sidewalk in front of the Renaissance waiting to enter the Church. Adams wanted to conduct his demonstration before and after a Sunday service at the Church so that as many people as possible could see his protest.

Adams’ protest largely consisted of him chanting “Save Harlem Now” and walking in a circle on the sidewalk. Adams concedes that he was “speaking in a loud voice,” which he describes as “declaiming,” and that it was “louder than a usual voice.” He denies, however, that he was being unreasonably loud or that he was blocking pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Someone who Adams assumed to be the Deacon of the Church said “You should stop this[.] [W]hy are you doing this[?]” and other Church members asked him “Why are you yelling? Why are you screaming? Why are you here?”

At 11:19 a.m., a neighborhood resident called 911 to complain that a man was “standing on the comer yelling” outside of his apartment building and “waking up the whole building.” The caller stated that “three or four residents have come out [265]*265here and asked him to be quiet because, you know, this is a residential—this is a neighborhood—and he’s out here yelling and waking up the neighborhood and we’re asking him to be quiet.” The caller asked the police to come and ask the man to be quiet or to move. Adams can be heard yelling in the background of the call. At times, his voice on the recording is as loud as the voices of the caller and dispatcher. The dispatcher put out a radio call of a “disorderly” in front of 145 W. 138th Street who was “standing on the corner yelling.” The dispatcher gave a description of the man.

Officers Castillo and O’Neill responded to the dispatcher’s call and arrived at the scene at approximately 11:28 a.m. The officers observed Adams protesting by chanting “save Harlem now,” spoke with Adams, and then requested that their supervisor, Vento, come to the scene. After Vento arrived and observed Adams’ protest, the three officers approached Adams, and according to Adams said “there had been a [noise] complaint” and asked “if I would not mind continuing my protest across the street.” Adams responded that he “understood of New York’s noise ordinance that you had to be over a certain number of decibels and ... that you could demonstrate on any public sidewalk you wanted to and that’s it.” The officers responded that “there’s been a complaint and if you won’t go across the street we’ll have to arrest you,” to which Adams responded “[Wjell then, you have to arrest me because I’m not doing anything wrong.”1

As the officers placed Adams under arrest and put him in handcuffs, Adams continued his chant at the same volume. The officers took Adams to the police station, where two summonses were issued for disorderly conduct in violation of NYPL §§ 240.20(2) (unreasonable noise) and (4) (disturbing a lawful assembly). Adams was released at approximately 1:00 p.m. Before Adams was required to appear in court the summons were dismissed.

Immediately after Adams’ arrest, Franklyn Mackey, who is affiliated with the Church, told Castillo that Adams was “shouting at people on the corner ‘save Harlem now,’ blocking tourists and people and church goers from lining up going to church and disturbing people from enjoying their day.” After the November 16 arrest, Adams protested the demolition of the Renaissance every Sunday until it was torn down around Easter. Adams testified that these protests followed the “same form,” except that he stood across the street from the location of the November 16 protest, and while the police arrived three times during his protests, he was not arrested.

Adams brings three causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and the violation of his First Amendment rights.2 He also brings a state law claim for false arrest and illegal imprisonment and contends that the City is liable for those claims under a theory of respondeat superior. The original eom-[266]*266plaint was filed on August 25, 2015 and amended on June 9 to include O’Neill and Vento. Both the plaintiff and defendants filed motions for summary judgment on October 24, 2016. The motions became fully submitted on November 17.

Discussion

Summary judgment may not be granted unless all of the submissions taken together “show[ ] that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). “Summary judgment is appropriate where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party.” Smith v. Cty. of Suffolk, 776 F.3d 114, 121 (2d Cir. 2015) (citation omitted). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a material factual dispute. Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Tech. Servs., Inc., 504 U.S. 451, 456, 112 S.Ct. 2072, 119 L.Ed.2d 265 (1992); Gemmink v. Jay Peak Inc., 807 F.3d 46, 48 (2d Cir. 2015).

Once the moving party has asserted facts showing that the non-movant’s claims cannot be sustained, “the party opposing summary judgment may not merely rest on the allegations or denials of his pleading; rather his response, by affidavits or otherwise as provided in [Rule 56], must set forth specific facts demonstrating that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Wright v. Goord, 554 F.3d 255, 266 (2d Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). “[C]onclusory statements, conjecture, and inadmissible evidence are insufficient to defeat summary judgment,” Ridinger v. Dow Jones & Co. Inc., 651 F.3d 309, 317 (2d Cir. 2011) (citation omitted), as is “mere speculation or conjecture as to the true nature of the facts.” Hicks v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
226 F. Supp. 3d 261, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177455, 2016 WL 7413520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adams-v-city-of-new-york-nysd-2016.