Thousands of peaceful protesters are once again taking to the streets of New York City after a night of looting and vandalism rocked the Big Apple.
People descended on Foley Square in New York City on Tuesday afternoon and also marched on Times Square, taking a knee in the center of the iconic tourist spot.
It comes as the NYPD announced all non-essential traffic will be been banned across Manhattan south of 96th Street starting at 8pm tonight as the department gears up for another night of carnage.
And the NYPD has now also told cops to cancel any time off. The message to staff dated Tuesday reads: ‘Effective immediately, all full duty uniformed members of the service RDO’s are cancelled.’
A woman holds up a Black Lives Matter sign during fifth night of George Floyd protests in NYC on Tuesday
Protesters take a knee as a sign of unity and chant during a solidarity march for George Floyd in Times Square
Protesters chant during a solidarity march for George Floyd in Times Square Tuesday
Protesters take a knee outside of the police station in Times Square in New York City on Tuesday
On Tuesday in Manhattan, organizers made a last minute change to one of the protest’s location, which was originally scheduled to be held at 1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department.
According to Patch, organizers switched the location in order to not interfere with protesters in custody being released at the headquarters, though that is not confirmed.
New York courts had warned their workers to stay at home because of the protest.
‘The entire area around the courthouse complex will be shut down,’ District Executive Edward Friedland wrote in the email, obtained by The New York Post.
‘At the direction of the Chief Judge [Colleen McMahon], no SDNY staff are to come to the Foley Square courthouses tomorrow.’
NBC reporter Phil McCausland posted to Twitter that thousands gathered in Foley Square Tuesday afternoon before they began a march north through the city.
Before they started out, protesters took a knee, raised a fist and chanted the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor while helicopters circled overhead.
As they walked north, they were saluted by medical workers holding signs that read ‘Nurses fought COVID. Now we’ll fight the police.’
Workers putting up plywood to protest businesses from further looting also showed their support banging on wood and holding ‘Black Lives Matter’ signs.
A smaller demonstration gathered on Times Square where they took a knee beside the police station.
Further demonstrations in the city are planned at the Stonewall Inn and 47th Street and Broadway, in Manhattan, 98 Fifth Ave in Brooklyn, and Fort Totten and Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue Station in Queens later in the day, according to organizers.
The looters targeted stores all over Manhattan, ransacking several retailers in each location, before police arrived. These are just some of the known locations they targeted
Camera and Computers on 34th Street was looted last night after crowds seized on Macy’s in Herald Square and other stores in the iconic shopping district
Luxury stores on Fifth Avenue were boarded up on Tuesday morning in anticipation of more chaos after another violent night
Cartier and Versace had all been entirely boarded up on Tuesday morning. Stores further down Fifth Avenue were ransacked
Earlier on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio brought the curfew forward from 11pm until 8pm after another night of violence and crime that saw looters pillage Fifth Avenue, Union Square, Madison Square, Flatiron and parts of Soho.
Upmarket fashion store Michael Kors on Fifth Avenue was among the luxury outlets hit, along with Nike and Lego.
Since the rioting began in New York City, more than 700 people have been arrested, according to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea on Tuesday morning. A citywide curfew from 8pm until 5am is in place until Sunday.
Six people were injured last night including a police officer who was run over in the Bronx and there were a dozen shootings but none were involving police.
President Trump on Tuesday called on Governor Cuomo to take tougher action and send in the National Guard, saying the city had been lost to ‘lowlife scum’ and ‘thugs’.
The decision to send in the Guard rests with Cuomo and de Blasio but both are refusing to do it, saying the NYPD is better equipped to handle the situation even though they have lost control to crowds in the last 48 hours.
On Tuesday, Cuomo said neither the NYPD nor the Mayor did their job last night but he believes the situation will improve if the cops are deployed ‘properly’.
‘The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night,’ Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany. ‘Look at the videos. It was a disgrace.’
He said the mayor was underestimating the problem and the nation’s largest police force wasn’t deployed in sufficient numbers, though the city had said it doubled the usual police presence.
Unprompted, Cuomo brought up the possibility of using his power as governor to replace the mayor and deploy the National Guard over de Blasio’s objections, then immediately shot down the idea as legally impractical and unnecessary.
On Twitter, Trump urged a 7pm curfew and National Guard deployment in his native city.
‘The lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart. Act fast!’ he wrote.
But de Blasio said the New York Police Department was ‘best equipped’ to handle the lawbreaking, arguing that bringing in the National Guard risked fueling worse conflict in a city on edge.
‘We will regret it if we bring outside armed forces,’ he said. ‘When you bring in people not trained for the circumstance but still with loaded weapons and put under horrible stress, really bad things happen.’
De Blasio has not said how many extra cops he will put on the streets, if any. On Monday night, the police presence doubled from 4,000 to 8,000.
People who are exempt to the curfew are essential workers – as defined by the COVID-19 lockdown rules – , the homeless and people seeking medical attention.
Ubers and Lyfts are considered essential as are yellow taxis and restaurants can still deliver food to homes if they choose to stay open.