Rowdy NYC anti cop, transit fare protest
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ASPartOfMe
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Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 39,637
Location: Long Island, New York
31 Jan 2020, 7:07 pm
Quote:
Protesters complaining that too many cops patrol the subways drew plenty of police attention Friday when they painted graffiti on station walls, poured glue on turnstiles, set off a smoke bomb into a Midtown subway stop and flooded Grand Central Terminal during the evening rush.
“F--k the police!” 500 or so protesters chanted at Grand Central, where about five people were arrested.
How do you spell racist?" they yelled. "NYPD!”
Many carried signs that said the same thing — and other signs said, “A to Z, transit should be free.”
After leaving Grand Central, the protesters headed west on 42nd St. About 300 of them were prevented by police from entering a station by Bryant Park.
But 80 to 100 protesters still managed to storm the station at 6th Ave. and W. 42nd Street and set off a green smoke bomb.
Then the protesters headed south on Broadway, and indicated they would head to Brooklyn, ending at Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“We’re for the right to free transit,” said Esther Sanchez, 23, of Brooklyn. "The cops are in the subway to criminalize poverty. They target black and brown bodies.”
Most of those arrested or summonsed for fare evasion are minorities, but the NYPD says enforcement is based on what officers witness and that it does not engage in racial profiling.
But protesters said police are essentially criminalizing poverty by arresting or summonsing those who jumped the turnstile.
The solution, they said, is to eliminate the subway fare.
Police responded to the protest by dispatching around 1,400 cops to stations in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan.
Throughout the day, protesters rushed into various subway stations.
Photos obtained by the Daily News show the words “Cops Out” scrawled on the wall of the B/C station at W. 72nd St. and Central Park West on the Upper West Side and “Free Fare or No Fare” at the 155th St. station in Washington Heights.
The turnstiles at the Borough Hall No. 2 station in Brooklyn and the B/C stop at the W. 96th St. and Central Park West were covered in Gorilla Glue to prevent people from swiping MetroCards, authorities said.
Trash cans were also set afire at several Brooklyn subway stops. One protester graffitied an NYPD patrol car parked on the Lower East Side, cops said.
FTP,” some protesters scrawled in black magic marker on utility poles and even city buses. One person was arrested for scrawling that outside a jewelry store, and several others were arrested, for obstructing traffic.
Two protesters were given summonses after they were caught trying to hang a “F--- The Police” banner in Bronx Criminal Court, police said.
In a memo acquired by the Daily News, the city Department of Correction ordered its officers not to wear their uniforms while traveling to city jails Friday.
They also recommended that family members “refrain from wearing clothing items or carrying items brandishing the department name and logo, for their safety.”
“If you are driving your personal vehicle or parking on a public street, do not place any agency identifiers such as union cards, placards or any other items bearing association with law enforcement in view, as this may result in vandalism to your vehicle,” the memo said.
“F--k the police!” 500 or so protesters chanted at Grand Central, where about five people were arrested.
How do you spell racist?" they yelled. "NYPD!”
Many carried signs that said the same thing — and other signs said, “A to Z, transit should be free.”
After leaving Grand Central, the protesters headed west on 42nd St. About 300 of them were prevented by police from entering a station by Bryant Park.
But 80 to 100 protesters still managed to storm the station at 6th Ave. and W. 42nd Street and set off a green smoke bomb.
Then the protesters headed south on Broadway, and indicated they would head to Brooklyn, ending at Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“We’re for the right to free transit,” said Esther Sanchez, 23, of Brooklyn. "The cops are in the subway to criminalize poverty. They target black and brown bodies.”
Most of those arrested or summonsed for fare evasion are minorities, but the NYPD says enforcement is based on what officers witness and that it does not engage in racial profiling.
But protesters said police are essentially criminalizing poverty by arresting or summonsing those who jumped the turnstile.
The solution, they said, is to eliminate the subway fare.
Police responded to the protest by dispatching around 1,400 cops to stations in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan.
Throughout the day, protesters rushed into various subway stations.
Photos obtained by the Daily News show the words “Cops Out” scrawled on the wall of the B/C station at W. 72nd St. and Central Park West on the Upper West Side and “Free Fare or No Fare” at the 155th St. station in Washington Heights.
The turnstiles at the Borough Hall No. 2 station in Brooklyn and the B/C stop at the W. 96th St. and Central Park West were covered in Gorilla Glue to prevent people from swiping MetroCards, authorities said.
Trash cans were also set afire at several Brooklyn subway stops. One protester graffitied an NYPD patrol car parked on the Lower East Side, cops said.
FTP,” some protesters scrawled in black magic marker on utility poles and even city buses. One person was arrested for scrawling that outside a jewelry store, and several others were arrested, for obstructing traffic.
Two protesters were given summonses after they were caught trying to hang a “F--- The Police” banner in Bronx Criminal Court, police said.
In a memo acquired by the Daily News, the city Department of Correction ordered its officers not to wear their uniforms while traveling to city jails Friday.
They also recommended that family members “refrain from wearing clothing items or carrying items brandishing the department name and logo, for their safety.”
“If you are driving your personal vehicle or parking on a public street, do not place any agency identifiers such as union cards, placards or any other items bearing association with law enforcement in view, as this may result in vandalism to your vehicle,” the memo said.
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