Manhattan saw two very different groups of protesters against the murder of George Floyd hoofed it from one side of the borough to the other on Sunday night.
A group starting in Bryant Park migrated to Foley Square before taking a walk to Barclays Center. Organizers leading the show stressed “peaceful protest” as their chants reinforced.
Their march into Brooklyn held to these same values for the most part, as amNewYork Metro’s coverage has detailed, and they numbered in the thousands.
Another group migrated over the Manhattan Bridge into Chinatown with very different intentions at about 7 p.m. on May 31.
At Mott Street, individuals began striking an NYPD SUV with a skateboard intending to break the rear window; they walked away unsuccessful.
While many in this group were met with NYPD arrests at Canal and Broadway, a larger section of the crowd numbering several thousand broke off, going up Lafayette and West on Howard Street before turning north on Broadway.
During their detour on Howard, the glass front doors at an apartment building were bashed in by two women, one white and one non-white. A clothing store had the front window broken out as well.
Lulumon, Aldo, CitiBank and other storefronts had their windows bashed in and merchandise was taken front display cases in the front. Shoes were scattered about. A white female protester kicked off some chaos at Lulumon by throwing an object through the glass, others joined in by pulling manikins through the gap.
A resident on his fire escape attempted to shame the looters at Lulumon who jeered at him in return.
At Hat Club, the front window was removed from the equation. One group yelled at others who made off with goods attempting to shame the looters. One man left with an armful of New York Mets hats.
Between Howard and Bond Street, protesters met with no NYPD opposition until police were called, a local resident was attempting to stop his neighborhood liquor store, Warehouse Wine and Liquor, from being burglarized.
With a metal rod in one hand the angry man tried to keep people out of the shop and had a bottle thrown at him for his efforts. Police and FDNY arrived and the situation was brought under control.
At 12th Street, cops in riot gear had created a blockade surrounding protestors on three sides. The situation remained a stalemate for about 20 minutes with NYPD telling the large group to disburse while they remained on their knees with their hands up.
The moment came to a dramatic climax when NYPD unexpectedly charged the crowd.
Individuals were tackled to the ground and nightsticks were used. One man laid on the curb clutching his head in his arms while friends help him to his feet and they limped away while some of the arrest were older women who were not able to get out of the stampede of people fast enough.
— Mark Hallum (@MarkuuSan) June 1, 2020
— Mark Hallum (@MarkuuSan) June 1, 2020
