For months, we’ve been working with homeless folks living on 125th Street, who have been the target of increasingly aggressive policing by Mayor de Blasio’s NYPD. This is part of a huge citywide effort to push the homeless people out of public space, with the Daily News reporting that the NYPD has identified “80 sites” across the five boroughs where homeless people congregate, that they plan to break up.
But homeless people aren’t going to take this lying down. They’re fighting back. And yesterday, we helped the folks on 125th organize an incredible rally and press conference, complete with poems and songs and street theater.
Check out all of our photos right here!
Here is a full round-up of press coverage!
Amsterdam News: “Homeless People Protest Mayor de Blasio ‘Attack’”
“Picture the Homeless says 125th Street has been the epicenter for abusive policing, with aggressive ‘sweeps’ of homeless people occurring up to three times a day, and cops telling homeless people they’re acting under orders from the mayor.”
Al Jazeera America: “New York City Homeless Rally Against Closure of Urban Campsites”
“’Cops have always messed with us, but in the past month it’s gotten really bad,’ said a homeless veteran named Sarge in a statement released Wednesday by Picture the Homeless.”
New York Post: “Homeless Launch Twitter War Against de Blasio”
“They may not have roofs, beds or running water — but that didn’t stop a group of angry homeless people from waging a high-tech hashtag war against Mayor Bill de Blasio. The vagrants launched their unlikely cyberattack Wednesday, as they protested the mayor’s homeless policies with signs urging people to ‘Tweet @billdeblasio’ using ‘#handsoffthehomeless.’” http://pix11.com/2015/09/09/nyc-homeless-gather-to-protest-police-harassment-under-mayor-de-blasio/
PIX11: “NYC homeless gather to protest police harassment under Mayor de Blasio”
“Even as the NYPD cracks down on homeless encampments, Mayor Bill de Blasio has described them as an example of ‘disorder.’”
“New York City Homeless Rally Against Closure of Urban Campsites”
“’Cops have always messed with us, but in the past month it’s gotten really bad,’ said a homeless veteran named Sarge in a statement released Wednesday by Picture the Homeless.”
New York Observer: “Indigent Advocates to de Blasio: ‘Hands Off The Homeless’”
“Chanting ‘hands off the homeless’ in the frequent gathering spot for indigent individuals, the demonstrators alleged Mr. de Blasio has allowed and even encouraged the NYPD to badger and intimidate people living on the street. Several said the treatment has gotten worse in recent weeks, after Mr. de Blasio has vowed to clear the 80 encampments around the city—a pledge the demonstrators said was a betrayal of the progressive principles he campaigned on in 2013.”
Waging Nonviolence: NYC activists push back against anti-homeless crackdown
“New York City’s most recent crackdown on its homeless population has been fueled by the local media, particularly the right-wing tabloid the New York Post, as well as the NYPD’s attempts to discredit Mayor de Blasio and advance the narrative that the city is on a violent, crime-filled decline.”
Socialist Worker: “Persecuting the ‘Undesirables’”
“… The general approach seems to be geared toward promoting gentrification in the central corridor of East Harlem, rather than solving the problems of the homeless, residents of the community or those coming to the neighborhood for treatment.”
Manhattan Times: “Demanding Dignity/Exigiendo Dignidad”
“Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton have recently announced plans to clear 80 homeless encampments throughout the city, among other quality of life initiatives… On Wednesday, speakers condemned the decision, and said that NYPD has taken to forcefully intimidating and removing homeless individuals from the streets. They note that there is no law forbidding homeless people from occupying public spaces.”
Metro NY: “Homeless Advocates Have High Hopes of de Blasio, NYPD During Papal Visit”
“’Bratton doesn’t have a very good history on
