City Hall Occupation To Cut NYPD’s Budget Stretches Into Third Day

GOTHAMIST

Hundreds of protesters remained in City Hall Park on tarps and under beach umbrellas for the third day in a row, demanding that Mayor Bill de Blasio agree to reallocate at least $1 billion of the NYPD’s $6 billion budget.

“We have thousands of New Yorkers, who, despite corona, are coming out and saying there’s too much money in the police budget,” said Carlene Pinto, a Black Lives Matter Activist and community organizer in Harlem. “We’ve cut hospitals, we’ve cut schools, we’ve cut everything else, why can’t we cut the police as well?”

Smoke from a sage stick snaked through the air as participants shifted along the sidewalk to stay in the shade of the surrounding trees as the hours passed by. Volunteers distributed water, pizza, and donuts at the edge of the street and occupants set up a makeshift first aid station and a lost and found.

“We’ve been to a lot of other protests, and this one has an amazing sense of community,” said Kristin Blaske, 23, of Carroll Gardens. “The media can see from this that we are not just, as they would say, ‘animals.’ We do care for one another. There’s so many supplies, everyone is looking out for each other. No one is telling us that we need to do these things for each other, it’s just what we know we should be doing.”

Protesters also came equipped with women’s products to share, and art supplies to make signs. They sprawled across the square on blankets, tarps, and sheets (tents are not permitted). Dozens of protesters have also been staying overnight.

The NYPD was keeping close watch over the small village that had popped up on Centre Street. There were about a dozen police officers at the site during the afternoon, sprinkled around the perimeter.