David Andreatta

@david_andreatta

The board members didn't question whether the men before them hoping to open a business in Pittsford village were artists who planned to work out of a studio.



The sticking point for the Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals was whether the men would work out of an "artists' studio."

Defining their workplace was crucial because village zoning regulations specify that artists doing business in the section of Pittsford where these men wanted to set up shop must work out of an "artists' studio."

After much back and forth, the board voted 4-to-1 to uphold a decision of the village building inspector that the workplace of Joseph DiProjetto and Ben Wight wouldn't meet code.

You see, DiProjetto and Wight are tattoo artists and they're covered in ink.

"It comes down to Pittsford not wanting tattooed people in their town doing business," said DiProjetto. "It's okay if a tattooed person is pumping your gas, but a tattooed person opening a business in Mayberry won't fly."

Once the province of bikers and sailors, tattoos have gone so mainstream you can't sit in the stands of a suburban Little League game on a summer day without getting an eyeful of flaming skulls, soulful roses and cursive poetry inked on moms and dads.

Yet despite the unprecedented popularity of tattoos and renowned museums dedicating space to them, tattooists still fight for recognition as serious artists in Norman Rockwell's America.

A month after the board voted on Sept. 15, the village attempted unsuccessfully to relegate tattooing and five other businesses that trustees deemed undesirable to an out-of-the-way area of the village. Now, trustees are exploring special permit options and outright bans.

Mayor Robert Corby had said none of the unwanted businesses had applied to open shop in Pittsford.

But DiProjetto, 45, and Wight, 38, artists at LoveHate Tattoo, a well-established Rochester business owned by DiProjetto, inquired in July about leasing space in the village and were told the building they wanted wasn't zoned for a tattoo studio.

They wanted to move into Schoen Place, a landing of historic buildings on the Erie Canal that house dozens of businesses popular with residents and tourists alike.

Village zoning regulations permit upward of 30 types of businesses there, from jewelers and opticians to supermarkets and drug stores, as well as "other retail businesses and service uses of similar character."

There are exceptions, but "tattoo studio" is not one of them, thereby leaving open to interpretation whether a tattoo studio falls under the permitted use of "artists' studio."

The village's building inspector, John Limbeck, determined it did not.

He reasoned that since tattoo artists are licensed by the state Department of Health and the state defines the premises from which tattooists work as a "tattoo studio," DiProjetto's and Wight's proposed business could not rightly be considered an "artists' studio."

Limbeck also maintained that tattooing was not a "retail business," despite LoveHate Tattoo having a retail license from the city of Rochester dating to 2001.

DiProjetto and Wight appealed the decision to the Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals, which sided with Limbeck.

"(Board Chairwoman Remegia) Mitchell and member (Joe) Maxey both expressed that based on the village code and the NYS Department of Health, tattooing is clearly not a permitted use for this location," the minutes of its meeting read.

Phone messages left for Mitchell and Maxey were not returned.

"They didn't care that we were established, they didn't care what our track record was, they just stayed within that narrow framework," DiProjetto said of the board.

One board member, George Wallace, dissented.

"I have trouble making the leap with saying they're artists, they have a studio, but they don't qualify for an artist's studio," Wallace said in an interview. "I don't know how you can say they don't."

DiProjetto, who goes by "Jet," had an answer.

"It's discrimination any way you look at it," he said.

DiProjetto and Wight said they had wanted to open a shop in Pittsford because many of their clients are from Rochester's eastern suburbs.

But they have no intention of fighting Village Hall and are now exploring options elsewhere.

"If they don't want you? Come on," DiProjetto said. "It's the principle of the thing."

DANDREATTA@Gannett.com

Twitter.com/david_andreatta