Progressive Wrong About Peace Tower

A Progressive city councilperson has questioned the cost of maintaining Yoko Ono’s Peace Tower, and was apparently misinformed about how the Peace Fund is used.

RÚV reports that Progressive city councilperson Sveinbjörg Birna Sveinbjörnsdóttir has submitted a formal request to City Hall to know how much money it costs the city to maintain the Peace Tower.

Speaking to reporters, Sveinbjörg said she had nothing against the Peace Tower itself; she simply wanted to know the operational costs for a work of art. Furthermore, she added that she found it strange that former Mayor of Reykjavík Jón Gnarr should receive money from the Yoko Ono Peace Fund when the city is paying to maintain the Tower.

However, Sveinbjörg’s question about operational costs is easily answerable, as it is a matter of public record. As Vísir reported in 2007, the Tower costs 3 million ISK per year to operate.

Secondly, Jón Gnarr did not receive any money from the Yoko Ono Peace Fund. RÚV reports that recipients of the fund rather donate the money to charity. Jón Gnarr has also confirmed this on Facebook.