Photos show how protesters in New York City are occupying City Hall, demanding the police budget be cut before the July 1 deadline
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Hundreds of protesters have set up camp inside City Hall Park in Manhattan to demand at least $1 billion be cut from the New York Police Department and shifted toward community resources before the city's July 1 budget deadline.
On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to cut the city's police budget by canceling the hire of more than 1,000 new police officers and shifting school safety officers from police control to the Department of Education.
But protesters say this falls short of their demands, and clashes between protesters and the police began to break out on Tuesday morning.
Hundreds of protesters have set up camp outside of City Hall Park in Manhattan to demand at least $1 billion in cuts from the NYPD before the city's July 1 budget deadline.
In rallying cries to defund the police, protesters have gathered to pressure the city into shifting money designated to the police department toward community resources including education and social services.
Grassroots organizations kickstarted the movement last Tuesday, following the latest in a series of protests after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man whose death at the hands of police has sparked outrage across the world.
Protesters have been sleeping in the park day and night, and have set up an organized system with resources, food, and sanitation — reminiscent of Occupy Wall Street and Seattle's most recent autonomous zone.
On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to cut the city's police budget by $1 billion by canceling the hire of 1,163 new police officers and reallocating funds from school safety officers into the Department of Education.
Protesters say it's not enough.
On Tuesday morning, videos on social media showed protesters clashing with police, and many have said they will keep occupying the park after the budget vote takes place.
These photos give a look inside what has been dubbed the Occupy City Hall movement.
For one week, protesters have gathered in spaces across from City Hall in Manhattan to demand at least $1 billion be cut from the NYPD's $6 billion budget.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
A grassroots organization called VOCAL-NY set up camp in City Hall Park to demand police defunding before the city's July 1 budget deadline.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
Since then, hundreds of volunteers and activists have joined the movement and created a space dubbed as "Occupy City Hall", the "City Hall Autonomous Zone", and "Abolition Park."
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: Rolling Stone
Organizers, a large portion of whom are Black and queer, have completely transformed the park in a matter of days. The movement is now made up of a coalition of organizers, non-profits, and volunteers loosely referred to as the The Black Collective.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Sources: The New York Times, Rolling Stone
Volunteers have taken in large quantities of food donations and set up an organized system of resource distribution, safety, and sanitation services throughout the park.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
Many volunteers work around the clock to service the self-reliant zone, with some protesters sleeping during the day in order to keep things up and running at night.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Source: The New York Times
Organizers have set up a welcome desk with information and supplies.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
Though social distancing can be difficult throughout the park, many volunteers have made efforts to keep protesters protected from the coronavirus. Here, volunteers distributing food are seen wearing masks with a sign that says "no mask, no service."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Source: Rolling Stone
Hundreds of protesters have set up makeshift areas to sleep with sleeping bags, hammocks, and tents.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: Rolling Stone
The number of protesters sleeping overnight has grown from 27 to 200 in a few days, while thousands of volunteers filter in and out of the park in the daytime, Rolling Stone reported.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: Rolling Stone
During the day, protesters listen to speeches, make signs, meditate, play cards and music, and engage in open dialogue.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Source: The Guardian
There's a library, a community garden, a tea hut, areas for artistic creation, a laundry station, a voter registration booth, and a prison letter-writing station.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image
Sources: The New York Times, Rolling Stone
The protesters have even set up cell phone charging stations and their own WiFi network.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
Source: Rolling Stone
Signs that read "Black Lives Matter," "Defund the Police," and "We keep us safe," adorn the exterior of the occupied area.
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Source: The Guardian
Hand-made art displaying slogans to defund the police covers the ground and surrounding areas.
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Source: New York Times
The zone has also become a meeting place for other marchers coming from Manhattan and Brooklyn, who come to engage with other protesters and pick up supplies.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
The area has been largely free of a police presence since it developed last Tuesday, and organizers have worked together to form a collective vision for the movement.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Rolling Stone
With tents set up and music frequently filling the air, the zone can sometimes take on the feeling of a music festival or party.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Source: Rolling Stone
Because of this, some organizers have feared the occupancy could lose its tone and become too overrun by white voices.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Sources: The New York Times, Rolling Stone
To alleviate those concerns, organizers at varying points hold assemblies to orient the growing crowd on a list of demands and the importance in respecting Black leadership.
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Source: Rolling Stone
"We are extremely proud to watch this movement grow," one assembly statement read. "Respect black leadership. This is a black led-direct action. No Karens," the protesters chanted together, according to Rolling Stone.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Source: Rolling Stone
Though protesters in the zone agree on defunding the police, some have questioned whether a $1 billion budget cut is enough. Many have vowed to keep occupying the zone after the budget vote takes place on Tuesday.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to cut $1 billion from the NYPD by canceling the hire of 1,163 new police officers and shifting safety patrol officers in schools from the control of the police to the Department of Education. But many protesters say that's not enough.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Sources: NBC New York, The New York Times
Celina Trowell, an organizer with VOCAL-NY, told the Guardian the proposition was simply "moving [money] from one system of oppression to another". She added: "That's not enough, and that's not what we're asking for."
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: The Guardian
The budget vote will have to be decided before 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday. The morning before the deadline, police in riot gear swooped in to clash with protesters and issue arrests.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
—Anthony DiLorenzo (@ADiLorenzoTV) June 30, 2020
But the protesters aren't stepping down. "If we don't get what we want, we will turn up and escalate tactics until we get our demands heard. We will be intentional and strategic," Jonathan Lykes, an organizer of the movement, told Rolling Stone.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Source: Rolling Stone
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