Scaffolding and tarps continue to block the view of where Trump’s name was removed, which opponents call part of “breathtaking defiance” of the judge’s order.
Kennedy Center board votes to add Trump’s name under building’s sign
The Kennedy Center board approved adding Donald Trump’s name below the building’s sign in an attempt to work around a federal judge’s order in May.
WASHINGTON – The court fight has rekindled over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after the board voted that President Donald Trump’s name must go on, even if the show doesn’t for a few years of construction.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had ordered Trump’s name removed from the building’s facade in May because Congress hadn’t authorized it. Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the venue for two years of construction because the plans for the project were adopted too hastily.
But the Kennedy name has remained obscured by scaffolding and tarps as the litigation grinds on. The board stacked with Trump allies voted Aug. 13 to restore his name to the façade – twice. So Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, asked Cooper in an emergency request Aug. 20 to block the latest renaming.
“It’s déjà vu all over again,” said Beatty, who serves on the Kennedy Center board.
Updates in the court battle offered some behind-the-scenes details about the renovation project, for which Congress appropriated $257 million. The curtain could go up on another court hearing before Sept. 8, the deadline the board set for “effectuating” its decision to rename the building.
The board decided to close the Kennedy Center during construction, which became a point of contention in the lawsuit. But Charles Matthew Floca, the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, said a consultant estimated that a partial closure would nearly double the cost and timeframe for the project.
Delta Consulting Group told the board at the Aug. 13 meeting that if construction partially closed the venue, it would require four years of revolving closures on the main level of the building and cost an estimated $580 million. The venue could also suffer reputational damage from artists reluctant to perform near construction.
Closing the main building entirely for two years, which the board approved, would cost an estimated $285 million. The board agreed to support performances of the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at other locations.
Court fight rekindles battle over adding Trump’s name to facade
The board also agreed to restore Trump’s name to the façade, which Beatty called “a breathtaking act of defiance” to Cooper’s order.
The board voted to rename the building: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
If Trump’s fundraising for the project reaches $100 million, the façade would read: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
The board also voted to name the grounds beneath the venue “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
Beatty argued that the renaming violated the congressional statute that created the center in 1964 – and Cooper’s order.
“It bears emphasis: On the law, the latest renaming resolution is a breathtaking act of defiance,” Beatty’s filing said. “Moreover, the Board has determined to add the specific term ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ back onto the building – a jawdropping flouting of this Court’s prohibition on use of that specific term.”
Why is the tarp still up?
Scaffolding and a tarp continue to block the view of Kennedy’s name, after Trump’s name was removed June 13.
Kennedy Center managers said scaffolding was required for water testing and structural repairs to the roof overhanging the front portico. The scaffolding also serves as a safety barrier for construction and to safeguard the marble façade of the building from reported damage.
But Beaty argued that the underside of the roof eaves are 20 feet above the scaffolding and that scaffolding hasn’t been erected around the rest of the marble building to protect it or examine other parts of the roof.
“Enough is enough,” Beatty’s filing said. “Defendants’ contemptuous behavior must stop.”