Prometheus 6

...Peterson insists on treating downtown Silver Spring as if it were an indoor mall. They set and enforce rules that would never pass legal muster on a public street. Political candidates have been stopped from handing out fliers. And photographers such as Py are regularly stopped and told to move along.

That is Peterson's right, says Gary Stith, director of the county government's office in Silver Spring. "It's like any other shopping center," he says. "The street was vacated by the county and is leased to the developer. We wanted them to maintain and manage the area."

Public or Private Space? Line Blurs in Silver Spring
By Marc Fisher
Thursday, June 21, 2007; B01

In just seven years, the new downtown Silver Spring has become a bustling restaurant scene, a business center and a public gathering spot popular with all ages.

Except maybe we should reconsider the "public" part.

Chip Py, a longtime resident of Silver Spring, recently returned to an old interest in photography. While wandering through downtown after eating lunch there last week, he took out his camera and started to take shots of the contrast between the tops of the office buildings and the sparkling blue sky.

Within seconds, a private security guard was at Py's side, informing him that picture-taking is not permitted, no explanation given.

"I am on a city street, in a public place," Py replied. "Taking pictures is a right that I have, protected by the First Amendment."

The guard sent Py to the management office of the Peterson Cos., the developer that built the new downtown. There, marketing official Stacy Horan told Py that although Ellsworth Drive -- where many of the downtown's shops and eateries are located -- may look like a public street, it is actually treated as private property, controlled by Peterson.

"I couldn't believe it," says Py, 43, who knew through his old sales job that Montgomery County had made a huge public investment in the new downtown. County tax dollars accounted for $100 million of the $400 million it took to transform the area. "There's all kinds of county activities there, promoted by county money. How could this be private?"

The same question bothers County Council member Marc Elrich. "Considering the county paid for it, it ought to be a public space," he says. "We invest a lot of police time and county resources there."