The Empire State Building is one of the centers of life in New York City. By neglecting to participate in a celebration of Mother Teresa's birthday, the owners of the Empire State Building have raised the ire of the New York City Council and Catholics. In a debate that pits private property rights against the city council, the New York City Mother Teresa debate is becoming heated on both sides.
Source for this article: NYC Empire State Building in Mother Teresa debate By Personal Money Store
Request to honor Mother Teresa's birthday rejected by the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building lights itself in a wide variety of colors to celebrate anything from St. Patrick’s Day to young author's week to a new Mariah Carey album. The Empire State Building owners refused a request to light the building in blue and white to honor Mother Teresa's 100th birthday. This refusal came with no remark as to why the request was refused.
The New York City Council gets involved
The Catholic League appealed its case to the NYC Council after their request to the Empire State Building was refused. The New York City Council will consider a solution on Wednesday that was written to force the building to display blue and white on that day. The Catholic League has also began an online petition, organized marches, and gone to the media.
The position of the Empire State Building
Despite the fact that it is a landmark, the Empire State Building is privately owned. The Empire State Building Company L.L.C. is responsible for the building, the operation, and also the management of the building. On the application for becoming a "lighting partner" – having the Empire State Building lit up for a specific reason – an entity has to agree to the following statement:
“Due to the high volume of applications, the Empire State Building Company is under no obligation to provide specific feedback to any individual or organization regarding the status, merit, and/or denial of its application.”
The Empire State Building, on average, receives one to 3 requests per day to light the building for a special event. When considering the legal framework in New York City, it is unclear if the city Council can really "force" the building to do anything.
Separating church and state?
Questions about the separation of church and state are being raised by the move of the NYC Council. The organization guiding the request is a religious organization – the Catholic League. The Empire State Building Company is a private entity that is afforded the freedom to decide who it works with. The NYC Council is a government entity, though. Questions of separation between church and state may be raised if the City Council tries to force the Empire State Building to participate within the observance of a religious group.
What do you think about this query?
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