Yet again gripped with nostalgia, we remember Gahan's hilarious Great Street Piano Meltdown of 2015.

You'll recall the Board of Public Works and Safety as an entity twisted these past eight years to primarily administer Jeff Gahan's political patronage network. Today is the fourth anniversary of the bored's idiotically delayed decision to allow the existence of a street piano downtown.

The belated dedication ceremony for the street piano that produced so much labored consternation in the Down Low Bunker took place on September 5, 2015.

Shouldn't Street Piano Day be a civic holiday? Just swipe your card to help the veneer king serve as mayor for life and YOU can play, too.

The following was originally published in 2016. Spoiler alert: In the three years since, Gahan's megalomania has only gotten worse.

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An omen is an event regarded as a portent of good or evil, and sometimes both.

This morning it dawned on me that I have failed to receive the weekly e-mail agenda of the Board of Public Works and Safety's Tuesday meeting.

No doubt this is a providential omen, freeing me from the crushing burden of observing the bureaucracy of local infrastructure, and suggesting that I make better different use of my time this morning.

Keep the questions coming. Meanwhile, let's take a fond look back to last year, and the Bored's bumbling performance in the legendary case of the New Albany Street Piano.

The following three posts include most of the other links to this most enduring and hilarious of stories.

As a refresher, here is Bluegill's summary.

First, there was a request to place a piano on a public sidewalk in New Albany; a fun, harmless, and completely normal happening around the world. Then there were months of city officials sidestepping and ignoring that request. Then there were additional weeks and multiple meetings of artificially constructed and wholly irrelevant hurdles put in place. Then there was media attention and, by New Albany standards, an expression of public support for the piano and exasperation with the City sizable enough to embarrass the officials involved. And then there was finally approval, with an almost equally embarrassing rearguard attempt to claim officials had supported it all along. I wish any of that was out of the ordinary but it's a near perfect example of what ordinary is here, even and especially when the stakes are much higher. Playing a new tune couldn't be any more welcome.

And the links ...

Bored of Works no more: Today at 4:00 p.m., the New Albany Street Piano becomes a reality.

Fundamentally delayed: The New Albany Street Piano "Grand Opening" is Saturday, September 5.

Celebrate the New Albany Street Piano, while remembering Team Gahan's dismal reaction to it.

ASK THE BORED: Gripped with nostalgia, we remember the Great Street Piano Meltdown of 2015.

Came the reminder: two years ago today was the belated (to put it mildly) dedication ceremony for the street piano that produced so much labored consternation in the Down Low Bunker.

This post from July 26, 2016 explains what happened.

Shouldn't Street Piano Day be a civic holiday?

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An omen is an event regarded as a portent of good or evil, and sometimes both.

This morning it dawned on me that I have failed to receive the weekly e-mail agenda of the Board of Public Works and Safety's Tuesday meeting.

No doubt this is a providential omen, freeing me from the crushing burden of observing the bureaucracy of local infrastructure, and suggesting that I make better different use of my time this morning.

Keep the questions coming. Meanwhile, let's take a fond look back to last year, and the Bored's bumbling performance in the legendary case of the New Albany Street Piano.

The following three posts include most of the other links to this most enduring and hilarious of stories.

As a refresher, here is Bluegill's summary.

First, there was a request to place a piano on a public sidewalk in New Albany; a fun, harmless, and completely normal happening around the world. Then there were months of city officials sidestepping and ignoring that request. Then there were additional weeks and multiple meetings of artificially constructed and wholly irrelevant hurdles put in place. Then there was media attention and, by New Albany standards, an expression of public support for the piano and exasperation with the City sizable enough to embarrass the officials involved. And then there was finally approval, with an almost equally embarrassing rearguard attempt to claim officials had supported it all along. I wish any of that was out of the ordinary but it's a near perfect example of what ordinary is here, even and especially when the stakes are much higher. Playing a new tune couldn't be any more welcome.

And the links ...

Bored of Works no more: Today at 4:00 p.m., the New Albany Street Piano becomes a reality.

Fundamentally delayed: The New Albany Street Piano "Grand Opening" is Saturday, September 5.

Celebrate the New Albany Street Piano, while remembering Team Gahan's dismal reaction to it.

"I believe that effective art is more about process than project" is a statement we don't often hear around here.

Dear Leader's public art alleys.

Pay close attention to the street piano scenario described below, and never forget the lessons we learned from ours.

ASK THE BORED: In 2015, the New Albany Street Piano was utterly perplexing Team Gahan's artistic sensibility.

Are those dogs still playing poker?

PUBLIC ART: PROJECT VS. PROCESS, by Gracen Johnson (Strong Towns)

It's Public Art Week at Strong Towns. For the next few days, we'll be discussing the value of art in public life, the impact of public art on our neighborhoods, and how to ensure that public art is created by and for the people, not through a top-down process.

Should public art be above the scrutiny of “return on investment”?

When procured by the city, I think public art is as worthy of debate and investigation as any line item in the budget. Its “return” is difficult to evaluate if you believe, as I do, that art has intrinsic and immeasurable value. Nevertheless, you can still ask if an investment in public art is achieving what you set out to accomplish.

Just as Strong Towns does not advocate growth, but productive growth, I believe there is a way to advocate effective art. And just as we do not have a formula or solution for productive growth, but rather an approach to development, I believe that effective art is more about process than project.

• FIRST, ESTABLISH WHY YOU WANT PUBLIC ART IN YOUR CITY.
• IF PUBLIC ART IS BEAUTY THAT CAN BE ENJOYED BY EVERYONE...
• TO ILLUSTRATE, A TALE OF TWO PIANOS.
• IF THE GOAL OF PUBLIC ART IS TO MAKE A PLACE FEEL SPECIAL, BEWARE OF PROJECT VS. PROCESS
• IF THE GOAL OF PUBLIC ART IS TO CHALLENGE OR MAKE A STATEMENT...

ASK THE BORED: One year ago, the New Albany Street Piano was utterly perplexing Team Gahan's artistic sensibility.

An omen is an event regarded as a portent of good or evil, and sometimes both.

This morning it dawned on me that I have failed to receive the weekly e-mail agenda of the Board of Public Works and Safety's Tuesday meeting.

No doubt this is a providential omen, freeing me from the crushing burden of observing the bureaucracy of local infrastructure, and suggesting that I make better different use of my time this morning.

Keep the questions coming. Meanwhile, let's take a fond look back to last year, and the Bored's bumbling performance in the legendary case of the New Albany Street Piano.

The following three posts include most of the other links to this most enduring and hilarious of stories.

As a refresher, here is Bluegill's summary.

First, there was a request to place a piano on a public sidewalk in New Albany; a fun, harmless, and completely normal happening around the world. Then there were months of city officials sidestepping and ignoring that request. Then there were additional weeks and multiple meetings of artificially constructed and wholly irrelevant hurdles put in place. Then there was media attention and, by New Albany standards, an expression of public support for the piano and exasperation with the City sizable enough to embarrass the officials involved. And then there was finally approval, with an almost equally embarrassing rearguard attempt to claim officials had supported it all along. I wish any of that was out of the ordinary but it's a near perfect example of what ordinary is here, even and especially when the stakes are much higher. Playing a new tune couldn't be any more welcome.

And the links ...

Bored of Works no more: Today at 4:00 p.m., the New Albany Street Piano becomes a reality.

Fundamentally delayed: The New Albany Street Piano "Grand Opening" is Saturday, September 5.

Celebrate the New Albany Street Piano, while remembering Team Gahan's dismal reaction to it.

Broken Sidewalk dissects City Hall's tone deafness in the "Street Piano Debacle of 2015."

Broken Sidewalk collates the facts from multiple sources and presents an excellent overview of the Street Piano Debacle of 2015.

Please don’t injure yourself playing this artistic piano on New Albany’s downtown sidewalks, by Branden Klayko (Broken Sidewalk)

 ... New Albany’s off-tune reception of Roseberry’s street piano highlights a critical part of urban life today—that we must embrace experimentation in our public realm. As cities and urban areas continue to draw more residents and visitors, the community is eager to explore new ways of interacting with the city—and with each other. Whether it’s through tactical urbanism, public art, or simply just hanging out on the sidewalk, cities like New Albany would do well to encourage such citizen-led initiatives and reap the benefits of a revitalized urban society.

Part One of "Free the Street Piano," in which there is a subtle public protest outside.

With Hannegan Rosebarry's street piano returning yet again to the Board of Public Works and Safety agenda on Tuesday morning, artist Michael Wimmer conceived a public art protest of the public art captivity, and created his own street piano out of scrap materials.

As you can see from the photo above, when I arrived on the scene at 9:30 a.m., Michael's piano was in place on the plaza in front of the City-County building's front entrance. The News and Tribune's photographer was snapping shots.

David Duggins emerged from the front entrance. The city's corporate welfare bursar walked toward us, said hello to everyone except me, continued walking on the sidewalk, and made a loop to the building's Spring Street entrance.

Moments later, out came the building authority's head supervisor, who informed Michael that if he wanted the piano to remain on the public plaza, as opposed to the public sidewalk ten feet away, he'd have to obtain -- wait for it -- the Board of Public Works and Safety's approval.

Not wanting to subject himself to a six-week rejection process, Michael rolled the piano to the sidewalk, then after a few minutes, he repositioned it on the south side of the plaza-sidewalk intersection. It was at this point that I  glanced toward the entrance to the sheriff's department and saw a hologram. ‬

The mayor spotted me leveling a camera in his direction, and by the time I squeezed the shutter, all I saw was his back.

Michael stayed streetside with his creation when the meeting started at 10:00 a.m., and he said that he'd be wheeling "Free the Street Piano" around during the next few days. It's intended to be inter-active, so you can sign it and leave comments. Here's a good one: "Regime Change Now."

Part two is here.

Part Two of "Free the Street Piano," as the Bored finally releases the hostage.

Part One is here.

I'm not sure where to begin in documenting the rampantly officious hypocrisy that has come to epitomize New Albany's Board of Public Works and Safety, but let's give it a try for posterity's sake.

Since first approached by Hannegan Roseberry with a request to place an artistically adorned street piano under the awning at Jimmy's Music Center on the corner of Pearl and Market, the board has gone out of its way to be unresponsive.

It tabled Hannegan's request, then obscurely deflected responsibility first to an utterly befuddled Historical Preservation commission, then to an equally baffled Develop New Albany, before finally -- weeks later -- concluding that major liability issues precluded approval. These issues were explained in mind-numbing detail this morning by the city's "corporate" attorney, Shane Gibson, who didn't bother summarizing why they don't matter for various trip hazards on city sidewalks ... but I digress.

In short, it has been as though this board, handpicked by Mayor Jeff Gahan, has contrived to distill fifty years of underachieving, caterwauling, Luddite, top-down, ward-heeling insensitivity to modernity into one entirely unintentional crowning condemnation of New Albany's political monetization "culture."

In short, the Board of Works has sent up itself -- parodied itself, made itself a laughingstock, tittered at the artsy-fartsy, donned the emperor Gahan's brilliant new clothes, mimicked the movie Footloose, an embarrassed an entire city.

Today, having at last reassured itself that Jimmy Gaetano actually was on board with the idea of the piano sitting by his building, near the "Gahan for Mayor" sign in his window, which provides the single gut-funniest commentary in this entire theater of the absurd (naturally, any of the board's members might have phoned Gaetano moments after the first request was made, but no), Hannegan's request was approved unanimously.

Before you could extract a cash-stuffed envelope from a far-off Democratic Party PAC, the same city officials who have laboriously compiled a weeks-long record of pettiness on the Street Piano rushed to glad-hand Hannegan.

They have not read George Orwell, and they feel no shame. You can be sure they'll now claim credit for what they did so much to impede.

Can anyone explain why this happened?

What new line of defense will be contrived by the Bored of Works to contain the street piano contagion?

Here's the view from the Bored Room:

New Albany: Wonderfully and delightfully us ... so visit Free the New Albany Street Piano at Facebook and join the fun, because we're not laughing WITH them.

Anyone seen the mayor?

The Street Piano returns for its 4th (5th? 16th?) gala appearance Tuesday at the Bored of Works.

Heck, we were under the impression that that mayor finally had emitted coded signals from the down-low bunker and resolved the impasse by the usual methods.

Mayor Gahan announces compromise street piano measure.

Mayor Gahan announces compromise street piano measure.

Undoubtedly with plaque to follow.

Street Piano remains silent, though City Hall's cluelessness nears a crescendo.

Street Piano remains silent, though City Hall's cluelessness nears a crescendo.

The saga continues, and the non-communicators remains silent.

At last glance, the Free the New Albany Street Piano community at Fb had garnered 233 like in a little over a day. Sample comments:

• We should stage a piano sit in- New Albany mayor should be embarrassed- aren't we voting for new leadership soon?
• Come on! Let go just for once!
• We should encourage not discourage any opportunity to bring art, creativity and music to our citizens. How could this possibly harm anybody?

At the News and Tribune, Hannegan Roseberry concedes to exasperation. I feel badly for her, and also for all those who value art, music, creativity, and thinking outside self-imposed boxes. However, New Albany's Street Piano is performing a valuable public service.

It's showing us just how tone deaf the Gahan administration is -- and not just about a painted piano.

Oops, she did it again

• Why is the idea of a street piano so abhorrent to our officials?
• Why, when I followed the correct procedure back in April, was I completely shut down by a tangled web of emails and miscommunication (which I chronicled in a News and Tribune column at that point)?
• Why was I then encouraged to proceed again, and do it the "right way," why was I then put through a series of public hoops and hurdles over the last two weeks?
• Why is the Board of Works working so very, very hard to think of any— ANY — reason to shut this (me?) down, dragging Historic Landmarks and Develop New Albany into the fray (my apologies to both entities)?
• Why are citizens not allowed to have individual ideas? Why does everything have to come from above in our city?
• Finally, why is Jeffersonville so ready and willing to consider art in unexpected ways and why are we so terrified to do the same here in New Albany?

Occupy Public Art, and Free the New Albany Street Piano.

It's a new community at Facebook.

Free the New Albany Street Piano

We are friends of the New Albany Street Piano, not its creator. We merely want to set the Street Piano free.

Are there more important issues to discuss? Of course -- and that's the whole point.