FORT GREENE — The artists who illegally erected a bust of Edward Snowden in Fort Greene Park were hit with $50 fines, authorities said.
The punishment came as the sculpture was returned by police and was set to go to a Williamsburg gallery.
Police returned the 100-pound sculpture to artists Jeff Greenspan and Andrew Tider on Wednesday, after giving them a $50 fine for being in the park after hours, NYPD said.
The statue will be displayed in the Boiler gallery on North 14th Street as part of a show about surveillance called "Anonymity, no longer an option," opening Friday, according to the gallery's website.
“Snowden is a very interesting character, so when we saw these artists putting the bust in public and creating a dialogue, we thought being able to put it back in a public venue would be great,” gallery owner Joe Amrhein told the Brooklyn Paper.
Greenspan and Tider erected the bust of Snowden atop a pillar in Fort Greene Park in the early hours of April 6, when the park was closed, police said. The park is closed from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. daily.
The fine was for entering the park after hours, a violation, according to the Environmental Control Board.
The Parks Department covered the artwork with a tarp hours after it was installed. Police then confiscated it and stored it in the basement of the 88th Precinct.
Parks officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sculpture was designed to start a conversation about whistleblowers like Snowden, who was charged with leaking classified government documents, the artists said last month, when they learned where the work was being stored.
"It was always meant to be a gift to the city and, in turn, the public," the artists wrote in a statement at the time. "Significant time, artistry and financial resources were poured into this statue to create a piece worthy of public display."
Ron Kuby, the artists' attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment.
