An enormous “Vote for Trump” sign erected on an upstate New York building by a pro-MAGA CEO has garnered legal action from the local government.
Anthony Constantino of Sticker Mule, one of the most popular custom sticker companies in the world, installed the 100-foot-wide sign on top of the old Fownes glove factory in the city of Amsterdam to celebrate American manufacturing and “the triumph of the underdog against insurmountable adversity,” he told Fox News.
“Let’s all Make America Great, Healthy and Happy Again!” he wrote on X while announcing the sign’s upcoming lighting ceremony:
A complaint from the city obtained by the Post Millennial revealed that local officials have accused Sticker Mule’s pro-Trump Sticker PAC of violating codes, and threatened fines if they do not comply.
According to the complaint, Sticker PAC failed to get a permit for the sign and it “exceeds the maximum height in the light zoning district.”
City officials added that the “newly constructed, nonconforming sign must be removed immediately within 48 hours” or face fines that will come 30 days after the citation — up to $1,000 per day.
“Fownes was a glove manufacturer that left my hometown when I was 2 years old in 1984,” Constantino told Fox News, explaining how Amsterdam was “decimated” when the factory shut down.
“This Fownes sign for years symbolized American manufacturing going to China,” the CEO said.
Court documents obtained by the outlet showed city officials saying that the light-up sign “presents a dangerous distraction and impacts traffic flow.”
Amsterdam has also requested an injunction from New York state’s Supreme Court to get the sign taken down.
“The affidavit claims, without evidence, that the city will suffer irreparable harm because the sign is a dangerous distraction for drivers due to its novelty and the fear that people will stop to take pictures of it,” said Sal Ferlazzo, Sticker Mule’s attorney. “The court, based solely on the city’s presentation and without any opportunity for me to respond, did initially grant a preliminary injunction and restraining order.”
The court has ordered the sticker company to refrain from “displaying any sign and/or illumination of any sign on the roof of 26 Elk Street” until its upcoming court date on Tuesday — the day after the sign is scheduled to be lit.
While Sticker Mule has temporarily covered up the sign to comply with the court order, Constantino said the show will still go on.
“It’s going to be a unifying event. I’m inviting Democrats and Republicans alike to come watch me unveil the sign. We don’t want all the division going on in this country anymore,” the CEO said.
“I think it’s deeply disturbing,” Constantino added, referring to the local government’s actions against the sign. “I brought nearly a thousand jobs to my hometown, which was decimated when the Fownes company and other companies left. And I’m trying to do something positive, exciting for the community.”
“They do know that they are in violation,” Amsterdam’s Democrat Mayor Mike Cinquanti told the Daily Gazette. “They’ve been cited, and we’ll just let that play out as we would with any code violation.”
“I don’t care what the sign says, but distracting the attention of drivers on the freeway is something that needs to be looked at, and that’s what we’re doing,” he added, claiming that he does not have political motivations against Sticker Mule or the sign.
“Any sign that represents a hazard to the safety of drivers concerns me,” Cinquanti noted. “Anyone who violates city codes is an issue that we deal with, and we are in the process of dealing with it and trying to alleviate what I consider a hazard.”
Constantino disagreed on X, saying, “Only highly partisan and short-sighted politicians would take issue with it”: