Response to complaint about the arrest of Mr. Zirkel at Smith Haven Mall on LI...

I hope people recall the incident a week or so ago - this is the case where an 80 year old man refused to turn his anti-war t-shirt inside out when he entered the mall to get something to eat. It should be pointed out that this man NEVER handed out flyers inside the mall and NEVER did anything in the way of demonstrate inside the mall. All he wanted to do with his wife was get something to eat....remember, this is an EIGHTY-YEAR old man! Despite the claim in the mall's response below, his "activities" consisted of trying to get something to eat!!!

Let's "Keith Olbermann" this mall and bring them to their knees like KO did with Walmart earlier this week.

Thanks.

The mall's response:

Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding Smith Haven Mall. All of us at Simon Property Group are highly attentive to our customers' needs and take their comments very seriously. As representatives of Simon Property Group, your correspondence was forwarded to our attention.

In response to your email, we, too, are extremely troubled over the unfortunate incident involving Mr. Zirkel and believe the facts, as we know them, have not been fully explained. Contrary to media reports, there were other circumstances that contributed to the arrest of Mr. Zirkel that extended well beyond his claims, including his insistence on continuing to rally inside Smith Haven Mall by handing out pamphlets and interacting with patrons in the mall's food court, despite being asked to
cease and desist these activities.

The situation initially started out as an organized and peaceful protest outside the mall's property on Route 25. Protests similar to this one are something that have been conducted by other groups in the past around the borders of our property without incident. In this instance, there were a total of about 150 people representing both sides of the issue who were carrying out their protest in an appropriate manner. However, once a group of approximately 20-25 individuals brought the protest into the mall's common area and turned a pleasant shopping environment into a forum for their social message, we took the necessary steps to exercise our rights
as private property owners. In keeping with our Code of Conduct, it is our corporate policy not to allow protests or demonstrations of any kind to take place on mall property regardless of the topic.

In this instance, mall management notified the 20 or so protestors that their behavior was in violation of mall policy, were asked to cease and desist their activities, and for the most part they complied. Unfortunately, Mr. Zirkel chose not to follow the mall's directions. He continued his activities and ultimately refused to leave the property when requested. At that point, Suffolk County Police arrested him placing Mr. Zirkel in a wheel chair for his own safety.

While we regret the outcome involving Mr. Zirkel, we also cannot allow the pleasant shopping environment we strive to maintain to be disrupted by allowing protests to take place each time an outside organization wants to use the mall as a vehicle to get their message across.

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us. We appreciate your patronage and sincerely hope that Smith Haven Mall has an opportunity to regain its place on your list of favorite shopping destinations.


Sincerely,

James R. Lundgren
Manager
Smith Haven Mall

Barbara E. Riley
Director of Mall Marketing
Smith Haven Mall