What now? Outside the courtroom on Mar. 2, 2005, Lehmann expressed regret that the dispute had reached such a pass. "We tried to settle, many times," he said. As for Haye, he answered the query with a resigned shrug. If he decides to appeal the decision, he must post a bond equivalent to the judgment. If he cannot come up with the money, there's always bankruptcy -- a route art dealers have occasionally been known to take.

Business at restaurants near the park also soared, as did attendance at museums along Museum Mile, the stretch of Fifth Avenue bordering the park. The Metropolitan Museum of Art reported a 90 percent jump in attendance, and a 16 percent increase in restaurant and gift-shop sales. The economic benefits extended to more modest businesses, too -- hot-dog vendors reported a 200 percent increase in sales.

As for the Gates merchandise, the Central Parks Conservancy reports that it sold approximately $4 million worth of Gates sweatshirts, posters, postcards, watches and other items, and also raised another $158,000-plus from paid trolley tours of the park. What's more, the artists provided paid employment for 1,100 workers, including nearly 700 New York residents.

Speaking for the anti-art crowd, the Wall Street Journal published a "personal journal" column suggesting that the data is optimistic, at best -- a not unreasonable argument. Now, if only the paper would practice such skepticism in its reporting on the economic posturings of Bush & Co.