Judge orders Kennedy Center to give 30-day notice before any major changes — including demolition
Ruling comes after board voted to close center after losing bid to put Trump's name back on it
asserted
board → order → it
A U.S. federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30-day notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened to do.
asserted
Trump → order → it
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said his ruling would "avoid any confusion on that score given more recent events," including the sudden closure of the building to the public on Wednesday.
asserted
ruling → say → Wednesday
Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center's executive director and chief operating officer, said he closed the iconic performing arts centre temporarily due to "acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration" of the aging building.
asserted
he → operate → building
The building will be closed for at least seven days to "assess existing safety risks in those portions of the main building exhibiting severe structural deterioration," Floca said.
asserted
Floca → close → deterioration
The temporary closure, which occurred without notice Wednesday, is separate from a vote Tuesday by the Kennedy Center's board to close the performing arts centre indefinitely for repairs, Floca and other officials said.
asserted
Floca → occur → repairs
The closure was based on an inspection of the roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse earlier this month, Floca said.
asserted
Floca → base → canopy
The closure may be extended after evaluation next week, he said.
uncertain
he → extend → evaluation
The announcement of the closure came in response to a court case filed by a Democratic congresswoman who is a trustee and sought an emergency court hearing to prevent what she called the building's "unlawful closing."
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, has led efforts to block Trump's name from being added to the building.
asserted
Beatty → come → building
Beatty had a verbal confrontation with the Republican president Tuesday during a virtual board meeting.
asserted
Beatty → have → meeting
Beatty's lawyers said in a court filing Thursday that the board members' "rationale that they are only temporarily closing the Kennedy Center is a plain pretext to justify shutting down the Center permanently.
asserted
they → say → Center
Cooper denied a request by Beatty's legal team to hold a hearing to clarify the board's actions and intent.
asserted
Cooper → deny → actions
But he agreed to their request "to make crystal clear" that his order prohibits demolition of the building.
asserted
order → agree → building
The Trump-aligned board, chaired by the president, voted to close the centre after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning Trump's name to the building.
asserted
judge → align → building
Trump, who was named the Kennedy Center's chairman last year by loyalists on the board, said Wednesday that his efforts to restore the aging building deserve recognition, "because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close.
asserted
it → name → that
It'll end up being ripped down.
asserted
It → end → ?
Congress has allocated $257 million US to cover the repairs, but Trump said they only would happen if the board was permitted to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.
asserted
board → allocate → building
Barbra Streisand, a Kennedy Center honoree in 2008, on Thursday questioned the closing of the centre for repairs and called the controversy surrounding its operation "galling and painful to witness."
asserted
Streisand → question → operation
Fencing goes up around Kennedy Center as activists worry it will be demolished
Kennedy Center board votes to close after judge again blocks efforts to add Trump name to it
The Kennedy Center board voted in August to inscribe Trump's name on the Kennedy Center's facade so it would read "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump."
asserted
it → go → Trump
If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million US, another inscription would be added reading "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund."
asserted
inscription → reach → Fund
The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would also have been renamed in Trump's honour.
asserted
plaza → rename → honour
All of those proposals were shot down Tuesday by Cooper, who ruled that nothing could happen "without Congress's blessing."
uncertain
nothing → shoot → blessing
Cooper ruled in May that the Kennedy Center illegally added Trump's name to the building, ordering it removed.
uncertain
it → rule → building
The institution's leaders complied in June but left a tarp and scaffolding in place where Trump's name was once displayed.
asserted
name → comply → place
The Aporia
