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NEON- ONONEON
When I was on AOL, ONONEON was my screenname. It is meant to be read as Oh, No Neon. The rest of
this post will shed some light on this subject. The original ONO was seen on a window in NYC. It was a
vinyl letter application for a sort of interior design or funiture store.
A few months ago I read of a proposed neon ban in yet another town in NJ. At the time I chose not to act
and I am sorry now. From The Star Ledger, Municipal Court Judge James Bride writes,"The issue
presented is whether the township, in pursuit of its goal to promote a desirable visual enviorment and
village-type business district, can absolutely forbid all neon signs under the provisions of the ordinance for
purely asthetic reasons...This court rules the proscription is not constitutionsly impermissible, not
unreasonable under NJ law and therefor can be enforced."
The ordinance was written in the 1970's and enforced last year. It states that any script or or figure
illustrated with a lighted neon tube is not legal. 14 merchants were approached, 6 were summoned.
3 merchants together with attorney Marc Gettis fought the ban based on several topics and will
appeal the decision with First Ammendment Rights as part of the argument.
The front page of the Daily Record states the judge prepared a 14 page opinion on this matter which I have
yet to see.
It seems that a decision was made by Sign Associations not to make this a landmark case. I wonder if
Everbrite is aware of this situation and that decision. One of the three merchants is a liquor store...
The judge went on with writing, "...a merchant could have a back lit 'EXIT' type of sign stating OPEN hung
in the window and not violate the ordinance. It also appears from a reading of the entire ordinance that a
merchant could have a plastic sign much larger than neccessary that would comply with the ordinance
and an illuminated purple neon tube border around the perimeter of the window. While visually appalling, it
would be legal."
I spoke with several people on this matter one whom is Joe DuPont, the prior President of the Chamber of
Commerce.He is all up for the fight. He faxed me a few of his correspondance to others. He has contacted
several newspapers and sign associations, the ACLU and many others. One line within a letter reads,"It is
time you start to write letters of support to local newspapers. Someone must give a damn about neon as
an art form." I told him I would post this message as he was not aware of this list. He will also receive a
copy of this post. He can be contacted at JRD1@MAIL.IDT.NET
I plan to visit this town during the weekend, as I am curios to see the installs. I wonder if the town wanted
to enforce the ban of neon for safety reasons but lacks the knowledge to make such a ruling.
No matter what we should defend the First Ammendment. Of course financial assistance would help and I
think Joe is the man for the job. I understand the merchants have not yet paid out any money and I get the
feeling that the attorney may be beyond that. I am asking members of this list to offer some assistance.
Even a small amount of money would help but words can be helpful too. Call your local papers...even if
your local paper is Japanese or Dutch. Perhaps this is not the case to be a landmark for future decisions
but we can't take that chance. Other municipalities will use this decision as a landmark if we don't and
your town may be next. Most people in our trade passed up a chance with the North American
Tubebenders Association(Pat Meyer- NeonLady@aol.com), lets not do it again. With the NATA this may
have never of happend. This situation does not change my sales as it is too far from my shop to be
economical for the prospect but in 5 years this situation could be knocking on my backdoor. Take a stand
and HELP!
At the very lest write the town-
Judge James Bride
Mayor Maryann Nergaard
Long Hill Township
1802 Long Hill Road
Millington NJ, 07946
(908)647-8000,or 4150
Someone must care....Peace.