NYPD Assists in Taking Sign Down at Hotel Chelsea

So we've got thousands of illegal advertisements of egregious proportions hanging off every damn surface in the city and this guy can't hang a 3'x5' protest banner from his balcony? My first home was right above the C in the Chelsea Hotel. The building holds a special place in my loosely pieced together history of my parents relationship and their experience as young adults in New York City. To watch the change in management tear apart the solidarity of the residents over the past few years is disheartening.

VIA Gothamist

The Hotel Chelsea bloggers are reporting that the Bring Back the Bards sign that has been hanging on the facade of the hotel for two years has been forcibly removed. Tenant Arthur Nash had it hanging outside of his room, but at approximately 8:45 a.m. the "kinda-sorta manager Arnold Tamasar" took it down as a police officer and a security guard stood by. They report that "the cop’s explanation for allowing the sign’s removal was that only the owners of a building are allowed to hang signs on the façade. This is open to debate, and in fact it was being discussed with various city agencies. The cop further stated that, since Arthur didn’t have a door to the balcony (like many residents, he climbs through his window), he was not allowed go onto the balcony at all." Did the NYPD have a right to assist the hotel management in what the residents are calling "a suppression of Nash’s first amendment rights"?