Commission asks city legal staff to define 'temporary public art' after inconsistent practices

Commissioners flagged inconsistent city practice around temporary public art and asked city legal staff to provide a clear definition and incorporate it into the public-art application and review protocol.

Ruth Meade Brasse, a member of the City of Syracuse Office of Communications, told the commission the issue stems from the absence of a definition of “temporary” in the city's ordinance and inconsistent review pathways: “We don't have it in our ordinance… some stuff comes through here and some stuff does not,” she said. Commissioners said unequal practices have led to confusion among artists and community groups seeking approvals.

The commission directed staff to follow up with the city law department to clarify whether the commission should review temporary installations and to incorporate the definition into the online application so applicants can see whether they should apply to the commission, Parks, DPW or another department. Ruth Meade Brasse said she would follow up that night with the legal office.

The discussion also touched on recordkeeping and minutes format; Chair Tina Zagiva said minutes would be restructured to summarize discussions and list action items rather than present a verbatim transcript. That change is intended to make decision points and next steps clearer for artists and community members navigating the approval process.

No ordinance or formal rule change was adopted at the meeting; commissioners requested a legal definition and a staff recommendation to be returned at a future meeting.