A massive holiday display in West Town was deflated after city officials said it violated city ordinance.

A massive holiday display in West Town has been deflated after officials determined it violated a city ordinance.

The decorations were so large, according to officials with the Chicago Department of Transportation, that they posed a hazard to drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

But the owner of the Irish Nobleman Pub, where the display is on display, is fighting back, questioning why it was never an issue before.

The inflatables at the corner of Noble and Erie are usually difficult to miss.

“We have about 20, some of them are 20 feet tall,” Declan Morgan, owner of the Irish Nobleman Pub, explained.

On Friday, however, the cheerful figurines were slumped to the ground.

“If we didn’t take it down, they’d have to write a ticket so when my manager called I said, ‘take it right down,’” Morgan explained.

Morgan stated that he debuted the display in 2020 to lift people’s spirits during the pandemic.

The display went up after Halloween for the third year in a row.

However, Morgan stated that an inspector from the Chicago Department of Transportation came knocking just a few weeks before Christmas.

“He said Alderman Daniel La Spata sent him over here, and he has a problem with it,” Morgan explained.

In a statement, Alderman La Spata told FOX 32 Chicago that he doesn’t have a problem with the bar, but he did notify CDOT of a “potential public way issue.”

CDOT said in a statement that the decorations were “blocking lines of sight for people driving, walking, and biking.”

“The restaurant owners were asked to remove the objects, which are in violation of the municipal code, to ensure the safety and accessibility of all road users.” according to the CDOT statement.

Morgan disagrees with their decision, claiming that it has never been an issue in previous seasons.

“People actually slow down to see it,” Morgan explained. “We’re a small business just trying to survive and this is one of the things that helps attract people to our business.”

CDOT officials told FOX 32 Chicago that any decorations that are not in the way of traffic can be re-inflated.

The owner of the bar said he will contact his attorney this weekend and plans to re-inflate the entire display in the coming days, whether or not he is fined.