Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2003 2:10 pm
This pretty long, but makes you feel as if you were there
Here's the best report yet of what happened yesterday:
F15 11:25am At the Public Library: Approximately 1,000 people at the library. There are between 100-200 police in full riot gear, some with batons drawn, standing in the second lane of 5th Avenue. People are leaving in small groups, but no organized mach has yet left the library.
F15 11:39am We have word that the Youth Bloc was the march that moved west from Union Square, not east. They marched towards 6th ave. and then north. At 23d st and 6th ave, police moved in and pushed the march back east. There are several mounted police, 15 vans vans, and several buses. At 24th st, the march was cut in half by police.
F15 11:47am Youth Bloc Update: several hundred people penned in by police at 24th st between 5th and 6th ave. One-hundred police and 15 or more mounted police. There have been several arrests. Police are letting people out five at a time. The march is on the sidewalk. The marchers are chanting "The whole world is watching, they are on our side."
F15 11:53am Police have confirmed arrests at Union Square. No numbers given by police.
F15 12:00pm From the rally: There are large numbers of people turning out in the bitter cold, and it is difficult to estimate numbers. At least ten blocks are packed in outside the Dag Hammarskjold plaza.
F15 12:02pm If you are heading to the rally from the west side of Manhattan, you should attempt to get there above 55th st. It will be difficult to get there otherwise. There are large numbers of protesters heading north past 51st and Lexington.
F15 12:06pm Update from Youth Bloc at 24th St and 6th: 300-400 protesters remained penned in, on the sidewalk not being allowed to move. Approximately 200 police, 3 deep for an entire block. Possibility that mass arrests will be made soon
12:32 Police are making it very difficult for protesters to get to the rallly; they are requiring people to go further and further north.
12:38 The Labor March marching from 59th street is back on the sidewalk. The police have broken it in half.
12:41 "3rd avenue and 58th is ours!" says one caller. From 57th to 58th is completely full. There are no protest pens on third avenue. There are groups up third avenue as far north as 72nd street.
1:07 There is a march occuring on 3d avenue; people are trying to get to the protest and are moving north. 1:00pm. A report just came in that 2nd Ave. is “a sea of humanity” protesters have taken over half the avenue and more people are joining from every direction.
1:09 The police are putting up barriers on 53d and 3d avenue. They are throwing them to one another. There is a huge crowd of people stopped by the barriers and they are chanting "let them through, let them through." There have been several unconfirmed arrests of people trying to get over the barriers. There is a lot of pushing and shoving with the police.
1:21 Third Avenue is full from 50th to 53d street . Cars and buses have been trapped by the crowd-- there are US Postal Service vans, a service van, and taxis. Marchers have completely taken the street.
1:23 The uptown Lexington avenue line has been stopped at 23rd street because of the protest.
1:24 We have reports that portions of Second Avenue have been taken over by marchers as well.
1:37 A smaller group of people made it out of the 51st / 3d Avenue pen and were herded north on 2nd avenue. It is a diverse group. They are now being stopped by a row of mounted police on 54th st, and they cannot move north.
1:43 First avenue is reported to be completely inacccessible-- people who want to get there to protest cannot. 2nd avenue is full wall to wall in the 60's. We are hearing reports that the police on 3d avenue have given up, though this isn't confirmed.
1:50 Sources report that police have begun arresting demonstrators on 54th and 2nd Avenue.
2:18 pm 2:04 At 53d and 3d Avenue, New Yorkers rushed the street barricade and 15 people made it through. Ten minutes later a group of 8 or 9 anti-capitalists linked arms and organized a second rush on a barricade. About 50 or 60 other people joined them in the rush. The police brought in reinforcements, maced 15 or more people, and pushed the crowd back.
F15 2:40pm More reports of police violence at 53d and Third. There were reports of people climbing atop barricades and being pushed off by police, about 25 on horses, plus others coming out of buses. The police have started to push the crowd back from 53rd street. However, people are completely trapped with nowhere to go
F15 2:42pm Estimate from organizers and the mainstream media on crowd size: the rally on 1st avenue streches many blocks north. NYPD usually estimates 7000 people can fill an avenue block. Including the additonal people trapped by police at 2nd and 3d organizers estimate over half a million people.
F15 3:00pm There have been 2 reported arrests at 2nd avenue and 57th street of people trying to storm a barricade. The crowd has begun getting very restless and has begun shouting “War means War.”
F15 3:01pm 53rd and 3d Avenue: People on the west side of the barricade have been trying to negotiate with the police but they may be getting ready to storm it. There have been seven or eight reported arrests. There have been reports of plainclothes policemen have been getting very violent with protesters.
3:04 50th and 3rd: Unconfirmed reports that people marching on the sidewalk were attacked by police. Completely peaceful when police attacked crowd. Mass pepper-spraying of crowd and large amounts of police violence. There is a report that there is a severe lack of medical help at the scene. There were men, women and children in the crowd.
53rd and 3d: Crowd has been corralled on all four corners. Police are pushing the crowd against the buildings.
F15 3:24pm 57th and 2nd: The crowd has taken the streets and is chanting “Whose streets? Our streets?” Police have not made any arrests or injuries, but they are using their horses to push the crowd with their horses back on to the sidewalk.
F15 3:34pm Reports of 300 police at Times Square.
F15 3:37pm Critical mass shut down Times Square for about 5 minutes. About 20 to 30 bikes and 100 people surrounded Times Square, but we are hearing that the police have begun to move people out of the way.
F15 3:59pm People at Lexington between 51st and 52nd have surged into the streets, surrounding traffic and groups of police officers.
F15 4:00pm Critical Mass cyclists have left, but 30 people on foot are on 7th ave between 47th and 48th chanting, "This is what democracy looks like." Police are preparing to make arrests.
F15 4:11pm Times Square subway station is closed; no one is allowed in or out.
F15 4:12pm The 50-100 people at 52nd and Lexington have sat down in the street. A line of cops on horseback have moved in from the north, and another line have moved in from the south. The southern line is riding into the crowd.
F15 4:17pm 52nd and Lexington: The southern line of horse-cops backed off, but then the northern line pressed into the crowd. Cops on foot were shoving people out of the intersection, trying to get people moving again. They reportedly beat an old man.
F15 4:23pm About 200 people are on 42nd street and 6th Ave, with no police presence, heading west.
F15 4:49pm We are hearing reports of police brutality outside Times Square, 42nd St and 7th Ave; police on horses running into and over protesters.
F15 4:53pm We have heard reports, unconfirmed, of unprovoked arrests earlier in the day on 92nd and 2nd Ave between 1:30 and 2:00pm. Our source is telling us that he saw several high school students arrested and maced. *** We have started to get many reports of police brutality throughout the day.
and so on...
Here's the best report yet of what happened yesterday:
F15 11:25am At the Public Library: Approximately 1,000 people at the library. There are between 100-200 police in full riot gear, some with batons drawn, standing in the second lane of 5th Avenue. People are leaving in small groups, but no organized mach has yet left the library.
F15 11:39am We have word that the Youth Bloc was the march that moved west from Union Square, not east. They marched towards 6th ave. and then north. At 23d st and 6th ave, police moved in and pushed the march back east. There are several mounted police, 15 vans vans, and several buses. At 24th st, the march was cut in half by police.
F15 11:47am Youth Bloc Update: several hundred people penned in by police at 24th st between 5th and 6th ave. One-hundred police and 15 or more mounted police. There have been several arrests. Police are letting people out five at a time. The march is on the sidewalk. The marchers are chanting "The whole world is watching, they are on our side."
F15 11:53am Police have confirmed arrests at Union Square. No numbers given by police.
F15 12:00pm From the rally: There are large numbers of people turning out in the bitter cold, and it is difficult to estimate numbers. At least ten blocks are packed in outside the Dag Hammarskjold plaza.
F15 12:02pm If you are heading to the rally from the west side of Manhattan, you should attempt to get there above 55th st. It will be difficult to get there otherwise. There are large numbers of protesters heading north past 51st and Lexington.
F15 12:06pm Update from Youth Bloc at 24th St and 6th: 300-400 protesters remained penned in, on the sidewalk not being allowed to move. Approximately 200 police, 3 deep for an entire block. Possibility that mass arrests will be made soon
12:32 Police are making it very difficult for protesters to get to the rallly; they are requiring people to go further and further north.
12:38 The Labor March marching from 59th street is back on the sidewalk. The police have broken it in half.
12:41 "3rd avenue and 58th is ours!" says one caller. From 57th to 58th is completely full. There are no protest pens on third avenue. There are groups up third avenue as far north as 72nd street.
1:07 There is a march occuring on 3d avenue; people are trying to get to the protest and are moving north. 1:00pm. A report just came in that 2nd Ave. is “a sea of humanity” protesters have taken over half the avenue and more people are joining from every direction.
1:09 The police are putting up barriers on 53d and 3d avenue. They are throwing them to one another. There is a huge crowd of people stopped by the barriers and they are chanting "let them through, let them through." There have been several unconfirmed arrests of people trying to get over the barriers. There is a lot of pushing and shoving with the police.
1:21 Third Avenue is full from 50th to 53d street . Cars and buses have been trapped by the crowd-- there are US Postal Service vans, a service van, and taxis. Marchers have completely taken the street.
1:23 The uptown Lexington avenue line has been stopped at 23rd street because of the protest.
1:24 We have reports that portions of Second Avenue have been taken over by marchers as well.
1:37 A smaller group of people made it out of the 51st / 3d Avenue pen and were herded north on 2nd avenue. It is a diverse group. They are now being stopped by a row of mounted police on 54th st, and they cannot move north.
1:43 First avenue is reported to be completely inacccessible-- people who want to get there to protest cannot. 2nd avenue is full wall to wall in the 60's. We are hearing reports that the police on 3d avenue have given up, though this isn't confirmed.
1:50 Sources report that police have begun arresting demonstrators on 54th and 2nd Avenue.
2:18 pm 2:04 At 53d and 3d Avenue, New Yorkers rushed the street barricade and 15 people made it through. Ten minutes later a group of 8 or 9 anti-capitalists linked arms and organized a second rush on a barricade. About 50 or 60 other people joined them in the rush. The police brought in reinforcements, maced 15 or more people, and pushed the crowd back.
F15 2:40pm More reports of police violence at 53d and Third. There were reports of people climbing atop barricades and being pushed off by police, about 25 on horses, plus others coming out of buses. The police have started to push the crowd back from 53rd street. However, people are completely trapped with nowhere to go
F15 2:42pm Estimate from organizers and the mainstream media on crowd size: the rally on 1st avenue streches many blocks north. NYPD usually estimates 7000 people can fill an avenue block. Including the additonal people trapped by police at 2nd and 3d organizers estimate over half a million people.
F15 3:00pm There have been 2 reported arrests at 2nd avenue and 57th street of people trying to storm a barricade. The crowd has begun getting very restless and has begun shouting “War means War.”
F15 3:01pm 53rd and 3d Avenue: People on the west side of the barricade have been trying to negotiate with the police but they may be getting ready to storm it. There have been seven or eight reported arrests. There have been reports of plainclothes policemen have been getting very violent with protesters.
3:04 50th and 3rd: Unconfirmed reports that people marching on the sidewalk were attacked by police. Completely peaceful when police attacked crowd. Mass pepper-spraying of crowd and large amounts of police violence. There is a report that there is a severe lack of medical help at the scene. There were men, women and children in the crowd.
53rd and 3d: Crowd has been corralled on all four corners. Police are pushing the crowd against the buildings.
F15 3:24pm 57th and 2nd: The crowd has taken the streets and is chanting “Whose streets? Our streets?” Police have not made any arrests or injuries, but they are using their horses to push the crowd with their horses back on to the sidewalk.
F15 3:34pm Reports of 300 police at Times Square.
F15 3:37pm Critical mass shut down Times Square for about 5 minutes. About 20 to 30 bikes and 100 people surrounded Times Square, but we are hearing that the police have begun to move people out of the way.
F15 3:59pm People at Lexington between 51st and 52nd have surged into the streets, surrounding traffic and groups of police officers.
F15 4:00pm Critical Mass cyclists have left, but 30 people on foot are on 7th ave between 47th and 48th chanting, "This is what democracy looks like." Police are preparing to make arrests.
F15 4:11pm Times Square subway station is closed; no one is allowed in or out.
F15 4:12pm The 50-100 people at 52nd and Lexington have sat down in the street. A line of cops on horseback have moved in from the north, and another line have moved in from the south. The southern line is riding into the crowd.
F15 4:17pm 52nd and Lexington: The southern line of horse-cops backed off, but then the northern line pressed into the crowd. Cops on foot were shoving people out of the intersection, trying to get people moving again. They reportedly beat an old man.
F15 4:23pm About 200 people are on 42nd street and 6th Ave, with no police presence, heading west.
F15 4:49pm We are hearing reports of police brutality outside Times Square, 42nd St and 7th Ave; police on horses running into and over protesters.
F15 4:53pm We have heard reports, unconfirmed, of unprovoked arrests earlier in the day on 92nd and 2nd Ave between 1:30 and 2:00pm. Our source is telling us that he saw several high school students arrested and maced. *** We have started to get many reports of police brutality throughout the day.
and so on...
