Anti-War Demo's
February 15th, 2003
New York City
collated from Indymedia
Note: Timeline runs from most recent entry, back...
F16 12:40am The 20 snake-marchers arrested at 39th & 8th were held on
the bus for five hours, were processed at central booking, and have been been
transferred to the 7th precinct, 19 1/2 Pitt Steet at Delancey, 212-477-7311.
F15 9:24pm Due to a printing error, several of the promotional materials for
tonight's benefit party have the wrong address. The correct address is 38-09
31st St in Queens. We're going til 4 a.m. Come join us.
F15 8:44pm There are 15 people (including 1 legal observer) at the vigil at 1
Police Plaza. The National Lawyers Guild is asking for more legal support staff
to come down. We have an unconfirmed report that the arrestees will not be
released until tomorrow morning.
F15 8:25pm United for Peace & Justice spokesperson Chris Pasteraro reports
that UFPJ's phonelines at their 42nd St. office went down at 11:30 a.m. Saturday
just as 67 feeder marches were getting underway. UFPJ was unable to communicate
with feeder march liaisons. The phones briefly resumed working at 12:20 p.m. but
went down again at 1 p.m. "We've been in this building for a month,"Pasteraro said,
"and we've never had any trouble until today."
F15 7:17pm 311 confirmed arrests. Detainees locked in buses at 1 Police Plaza,
just behind 100 Center Street. United For Peace and Justice asking for people to
go down to Police HQ or their or flood their switchboard. 212-374-3921 An
unknown number of people have been hospitalized as a result of being trampled
on by horses.
F15 7:04pm Unconfirmed of 20 arrests at 39th street between 7th and 8th avenue.
Another nearby group of approx. 100 protesters facing a potential mass arrest.
F15 6:51pm New York seems to be calming down from one of its largest days
of protest ever. We will continue to post more updates as we recieve them.
F15 5:54pm The St. Marks Snake March has largely dissipated. Marchers reached
Astor Place abd held a moment of silence to remember those beaten today by
the police.
F15 5:49pm 300-400 people are marching down 5th Avenue and 18th st. The
police have just arrived.
F15 5:27pm The Snake March from St. Marks has moved to Houston to 2nd
Avenue. The march is moving on and off the sidewalk. No reports of police
harassment.
F15 5:17pm 200-250 protestors assembling at St, Marks and 2nd for a
Snake March. Police are present with horses and vans.
F15 5:11pm Times Square Update: The police have blocked off 8th
Avenue south of 42nd street; Times Square is cut in half by police and
small groups of protesters continue to mill around.
F15 5:04pm Reports of protestors establishing a street blockade at 34th st
and 6th Ave. A large group left Times Square, marched to 34th and 6th, and
held the intersection for several minutes.
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. While you can call the IMC to report on todays events, we would
encourage you to post your own experiences directly to our newswire.
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 4:23pm About 200 people are on 42nd street and 6th Ave, with no police
presence, heading west.
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 4:12pm 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 4:11pm Times Square subway station is closed; no one is allowed in or
out. Times Square webcams.
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 3:59pm People at Lexington between 51st and 52nd have surged into the
streets, surrounding traffic and groups of police officers.
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 3:34pm Reports of 300 police at Times Square.
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 3:01pm 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 3:00pm 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 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 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.
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.
1:50 Sources report that police have begun arresting demonstrators on 54th
and 2nd Avenue.
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.
1:37 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.
1:24 We have reports that portions of Second Avenue have been taken over by
marchers as well.
1:23 The uptown Lexington avenue line has been stopped at 23rd street
because of the protest.
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.
1:09 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.
1:07 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.
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.
12:38 The Labor March marching from 59th street is back on the sidewalk.
The police have broken it in half.
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.
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.
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 12:00pm 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 11:53am Police have confirmed arrests at Union Square. No numbers given
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 11:39am 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 11:25am 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 11:03am One of the feeder marches just took the street on West 21st
street and 6th avenue. There are at least a thousand people on the street.
About 20 or so riot police are stationed on the street, but they have now
given up trying to force marchers back onto the sidewalk.
F15 10:59am 100 people have now left the Green Party headquarters, and are
headed towards the rally.
F15 10:55am Approx. 1,000 people have left Union Square, and they have just
been joined by an additonal march. The march has headed west on 14th st.,
not east. They are marching behind a banner that says "Our Nation Says No
To War," and are marching on the sidewalk.
F15 10:14am Plans continue to percolate for post-rally marching. Read
updates here.
F15 10:04am Looking for somthing to do before the rally? Come down to the
IMC at 29th street, pick up copies of the Indypendent and awesome party
benefit flyers to distribute at the march.
F15 9:27am Update on crowd control techniques near the UN: 1st avenue is
closed to traffic from 34th to 59th to begin with... Entry to side streets
from 2nd avenue ... will only be allowed every 4th street or so along 2nd
ave, and exit at different streets.
F14 12:40am Welcome to the NYC IMC website for the F15 convergence.
– timeline & originals of photos from new york indymedia
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