Friday, March 10, 2000
Mardi Gras damaged home, lawsuit says
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — As a MainStrasse Village resident, Damien Herold had always just accepted that life sometimes meant festivals, drunks and rowdiness. He drew the line this week when the smell of urine outside his West Seventh Street front door almost made him sick.
“I am not kidding — I almost threw up,” he said Thursday, showing off the damage to his house he says happened during last week end's Mardi Gras. “For four days, this was nothing but a public toilet.”
Mr. Herold filed a lawsuit in the small-claims division of Kenton District Court against the MainStrasse Village Association and its president, Kathy Snyder. He wants them to pay him $1,500 for a broken window, a damaged air conditioner and for parking about 20 portable toilets in front of his house.
He says nobody told him to expect “a big public urinal” right outside his doorstep.
Many residents have objected to the public urination and public nudity of the festival, which attracted 60,000 people last Friday and Saturday.
The complaints prompted city and event officials to cancel the festival for next year, over the objections of some bars, which did record business. Organizers have acknowledged that they did not have enough police officers or public toilets to accommodate the bigger-than-ever crowd.
Mr. Herold also objected to the post-festival cleanup. He said feces and toilet paper still lay in the street near his house Tuesday, when he took pictures to document the mess.
“I wouldn't even be against them doing a Mardi Gras again,” he said. “If they're properly prepared.”
Ms. Snyder could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Herold said he tried to meet with her before he filed the suit, which is set for trial April 17. He said she did not return his phone calls.
“I wanted to say, "Kathy, how would you like it if I brought 30,000 people out to urinate on your house?'”
Part of his claim is that many people urinated on his house.
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