Page 12 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch May 3, 2013 Resort Asks Court To Dismiss ACLUNoise Ordinance Lawsuit By SHAWN J. SOPER NEWS EDITOR EVERY SUNDAY ORIOLES DAY GAME $10 ALL YOU CAN EAT OPEN DAILY 11 A.M. FULL MENU AND CARRY-OUT OPEN TIL 1 A.M. Located On The Corner Of 28th St. And Coastal Hwy. 410-289-2020 • www.pitandpub.com OCEAN CITY – The Town of Ocean City is seeking the dismissal of a federal civil suit levied in April on behalf of a street performer alleging the town’s 30-foot noise ordinance on the Boardwalk is unconstitutional. On April 10, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in federal court on behalf of violinist William Hassay Jr. challenging the town’s noise ordinance, specifically recent changes to it, is an attempt to silence musicians. In the suit filed against the Mayor and Council and acting-Police Chief Michael Colbert, the ACLU alleges the enforcement of the town’s 30foot noise ordinance on the Boardwalk infringes on Hassay’s, and other performers’ fundamental right under the First Amendment to engage freedom of speech and expression in a public forum. Last year, the Mayor and Council approved an ordinance setting the acceptable limit on noise in any form on the Boardwalk to 30 feet. Essentially, the ordinance was directed at several Boardwalk merchants who habitually play loud music from speakers on their stores, but caught up in the fray were the numerous Boardwalk street performers and musicians whose music often extends beyond the set 30-foot limit. The ACLU filed suit in federal court challenging what it asserts is an unconstitutional noise ordinance that has been silencing musicians. With the summer season rapidly approaching, the suit seeks a preliminary injunction to suspend the enforcement of the noise ordinance while the case is under review. According to the civil suit, on two separate occasions last June, Hassay was threatened by Ocean City police officers with citations for violations of the noise ordinance while playing his violin music on the Boardwalk. As a result of the alleged coercion, Hassay stopped playing for the remainder of the season, causing great financial loss and perhaps more importantly, a violation of his basic First Amendment rights to freedom of expression in a public forum. However, the town of Ocean City this week filed a motion to dismiss the suit, asserting Hassay was merely approached by an OCPD officer after complaints from retailers in the area where he was performing and asked to turn down the volume of his music to conform to the 30-foot rule. The town’s motion to dismiss asserts the officer never issued a citation or threatened Hassay with arrest, but rather intended to educate the Boardwalk performer on the recent changes in the town’s ordinance. “What Hassay does not allege in his complaint, however, is a substantive injury or objective harm caused by the noise ordinance or its enforcement,” the town’s answer reads. “Hassay’s complaint merely alleges that as a result of the noise ordinance, he had a conversation with several Ocean City Police officers which resulted in his feeling that he was deterred, or ‘chilled,’ from exercising his First Amendment rights. However, the record before the court in the matter is clear that, as it relates to Hassay, no enforcement of the noise ordinance ever occurred.” While Hassay’s complaint alleges he was coerced to the point he was left with little choice but to stop performing, the town’s answer to the suit filed this week alleges Hassay’s complaint does not detail any real harm he suffered because of the informal discussion with police over the volume of his music and the complaints from neighboring businesses. “Absent from Hassay’s complaint is what adverse action, if any, was taken by the Ocean City Police Department, Colbert or the town as a result of the subject occurrences,” the town’s answer to the complaint reads. “Hassay’s SEE NEXT PAGE