For 2 Catholic schools, sharing has been a blessing

No limit to curfew protests

Whether Tompkins Square Park would be a 24-hour free zone or have a curfew was an ongoing issue in the East Village during the late 1980’s and early ’90’s. In the photo above, photographer John Penley documented voter registration in the park, while at right, curfew opponents hung their banner at a Community Board 3 meeting. There were constant rallies. “It went on every weekend: ‘Whose f—-g park? Our f—-g park!’ — and sometimes weekdays,” recalled Elsa Rensaa, wife of documentarian Clayton Patterson. Without the Internet, organizing the protests “was all done by telephone — and postering, too, on Avenue A,” Rensaa recalled.