As New York City braces for nightfall and with an 8PM curfew looming, protestors have been again taking to the streets on this, the sixth day of demonstrations in New York City.
An estimated 2,000 peaceful protestors gathered in Foley Square in the afternoon and began marching uptown.
That crowd grew to more than 10,000 as it made its way along York Avenue, on the Upper East Side. Medical workers from Memorial Sloane Kettering took to the streets to cheer them on.
As evening approached, around 1,000 protesters made their way to Times Square. About half were health care workers, carrying signs that read “White Coats for Black Lives,” “Racism Is a Public Health Issue” and “We All Bleed the Same Color, Let Our Patients Breathe.”
In Brooklyn, a new wave of marchers made its way to the Barclays Center as the curfew creeped ever closer.
There have been no incidents of violence reported at any of the marches.
In the Bronx, hundreds of residents took to the streets not to protest, but to clean up the dozens of shops that were vandalized, looted and burned Monday night.
The damage that could be seen along East Fordham Road and Burnside Avenues was devastating to businesses, many of them minority-owned, that are still struggling in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown.
Residents said they were there to help business owners and to protect their part of New York City.
"The Bronx is my home. This is my hometown," said Carolyn Castro, a Bronx resident. "What happened last night doesn't represent who we are as a people, and it doesn't represent the Bronx."
Mayor Bill de Blasio also visited the area and pledged the city’s help in rebuilding.
The NYPD announced a short time ago it will be cancelling all time off until further notice, in an attempt to increase police presence on the streets.
When the curfew goes into effect, there will be no vehicular traffic allowed in Manhattan south of 96th Street, according to NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan. There will be exceptions for residents, essential workers, buses and truck deliveries.
Press conference Tuesday morning by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo presented starkly different views of the actions of the NYPD on Monday as night fell and violence and looting took over some of the city’s neighborhoods.
De Blasio sometimes angrily defended the police, even after looters smashed windows and ran off with stolen merchandise from a Midtown Best Buy, Urban Outfitters, Foot Locker and the iconic Macy’s in Herald Square. The looting spread to shops on Fifth and Madison Avenues, the Upper East Side and the Bronx.
“If there’s a specific instance where the NYPD did not respond, I want to know why,” he said. “If there was a strategy that wasn’t effective, if something that could have been prevented wasn’t prevented in time or officers weren’t mobilized to the right location, that’s something we’re gonna be looking at today. There will be additional police resources out. We’re gonna focus on the lessons that we learned yesterday.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea added that more than 700 people were arrested last night for looting and attacks on NYPD officers. He expressed his support for his police and asked for the confidence of New Yorkers.
“The New York City Police Department will be there to protect you,” he said, “and make sure that criminals do not run New York City.”
But Governor Andrew Cuomo said, bluntly, that the NYPD and mayor "did not do their job last night.”
“I believe the mayor underestimates the scope of this problem," Cuomo added. "What happened in New York City is inexcusable.”
Cuomo again offered the services of the New York State Police and the National Guard to help police the city, an offer de Blasio has steadfastly refused.
“We do not need, nor do we think it’s wise for the National Guard nor any armed forces to be in New York City," de Blasio said. "When outside forces go into communities, no good comes of it.”
When asked if he could “override” the mayor’s decision not to accept state help, Cuomo said that would require him to “displace” the mayor.
“Legally, can you displace a mayor?" he said. “Yes, a mayor can be removed. It is a bizarre thing to try to do in this situation. It would make a bad situation worse. Also, I don’t think it’s necessary,” adding, “we’re not at that point.”
Still, both men went to great pains to stress the difference between peaceful protesters and looters.
De Blasio promised a greater police presence on the city’s streets Tuesday night, as the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew takes effect.