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Sign Of Trouble For Roadside Clown
Township Official: Roadside Promotion A Violation Of The Law
By Bill McLaughlin
 | | --Photo By Bill McLaughlin Alphonse Mariani thought he was within his First Amendment rights to promote a business on the side of the road, but township officials said not so fast. |
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For Alphonse Mariani, who works as a performing artist, a contract is no laughing matter. So when he shook hands on a deal to publicize a local barber shop, he took his job seriously.
Dressed in a clown outfit and wearing a sandwich board that indicated $7 haircuts were an every day price at a Colbye Commons barber shop, Mariani went to work. He said he stood about 10 feet from the shoulder of the curbing along the east bound side of Route 70. His sign did the talking, Mariani said, he just stood there.
"For 14 years, I've been doing this work at business meetings, political parties, car sales without any trouble," the clown said last week.
About a week ago, he was plying his trade atop a mound far back from the roadway, he claimed, when he noticed the driver of a west bound car suddenly slow then turn around.
"He flashed past me and I noticed him looking me over," Mariani recalled. "Then he came around and came back."
Mariani said he was told to cease and desist or face a fine. He did so for the time being, but vows not to give up without a fight.
"I have a First Amendment right to do this," Mariani said, adding that stopping his performance amounts to a restraint of his trade.
Mariani dropped the names of a couple of area politicians he said would vouch for him and back his claim. He said one of them, newly elected Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt, actually became friends with the clown after they clashed over this same set of circumstances. (VanPelt could not be reached for comment at press time.)
"I was fined in Barnegat about 14 years ago when he was mayor," he said. "But we worked it out and Dan and I became friends. He knows the law is on my side."
To the contrary, Vito Marinaccio, the director of inspections, land use and planning for Manchester Township, cites a local ordinance banning any kind of moving advertisement.
"Any animated sign is not a permitted use," Marinaccio said. "That's because it is a potential distraction that could cause people to lose concentration behind the wheel."
After reading the local ordinance, Marinaccio said he went to the local barber shop whose advertisement was at the center of the controversy. There are two separate issues in play here: Alphonse and the standing sign near the business.
Marinaccio said displaying the price of a haircut in a large sign near his Colbye Commons was also not permitted, but the owner, who said he faces a $2,000 fine for the price signs, disagrees.
"There are other barber shops in Manchester that display the price just like me," said the owner, who identified himself only as Mike. "A zoning board guy told me they had 'an anonymous call' complaining about my A sign is a sign. What's good for them is good for me."
But not so fast, said Marinaccio.
"That is his opinion," the township regulator said. "We had a conversation that was above board. I put information in the mail today he requested regarding the ordinance."
Marinaccio also took exception to the claim that the clown was far back from the roadway.
"He was standing in the right-of-way, which extends 10 feet on either side of the roadway," Marinaccio said. "He was at a point of the curbing visible to traffic."
Both the clown and barber say animation is everywhere along the roadways, from county traffic flashers to bank time/temperature signs, but according to the township, the law is the law.
"Look, we don't want to give him a hard time," the township employee concluded. "Other businesses would love to do what he's doing. It's nothing personal. We're trying to deal with it on a friendly basis."
Mike said he won't let Alphonse put on the sandwich board until this is resolved, even though the clown said he wanted to finish the contract they shook hands on.
"I'll have my lawyer contact the township lawyer and see what's what," he said. "I feel bad for Alphonse because this isn't what he expected. He wants to do his job and get on with his business."
Mariani said he has been stopped occasionally through the years by code enforcement officials who - he says - don't understand the law.
"I can do this in Berkeley, Beachwood, Lacey and Toms River," he said. "Why can't I do it here?"
Marinaccio said everyone has a right to fight for what they believe in, but he'd be surprised if the clown prevailed.
"He can challenge the law," Marinaccio said. "This is the way I see it. We'll leave it up to a judge. It is incumbent on me to uphold the laws as I see them."
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