July 3, 2007 -- A Manhattan member of Jews for Jesus is suing a tony Long Island town for allegedly keeping her from spreading the word, The Post has learned.
Susan Mendelson has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court claiming that her First Amendment rights were violated when she was escorted from an Oyster Bay public park and ticketed for proselytizing and passing out religious literature.
In July 2006, cops forced her to leave John J. Burns Park when she approached concertgoers at a Dionne Warwick show, she said.
Town officials later told her the affluent suburb has an ordinance stating no person can "make a speech, address, or harangue . . . in any park or beach" without a permit - except the town had no permitting process, according to the suit.
Undaunted, Mendelson returned to the park in August - pamphlets from Jews for Jesus in hand - and this time was escorted away by police and ticketed, the complaint reads.
"The town is reviewing the action and deciding how to proceed," a spokeswoman for Oyster Bay said.
stefanie.cohen@nypost.com
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