NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD is getting ready for a potential mass protest in the city's transit system on Friday after a video posted online called on people to turn out in large number to protest police, subway fares and transit accessibility.
A video posted by Decolonize This Place earlier this week features three masked people, one of them telling viewers to arrive at meetup locations Friday.
"You can move in affinity to build and f*** s*** up all day long," a masked person says in the video.
The streets are ours. The trains our ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours. How will you and your crew build and fuck shit up for #FTP3 on #J31 (THIS FRIDAY)? Issa mothafuckin' movement. pic.twitter.com/CoEjRSvmDX
— DecolonizeThisPlace (@decolonize_this) January 28, 2020
The planned protests will decry everything from police in the subway system to the $2.75 subway fare.
"F*** your $2.75. No cops in the MTA. Free Transit. No harassment period, and full accessibility," the masked person says in the video.
"We hope you can come through and move with us on J31. F*** the police," the person ends the video.
A message accompanying the video reads: "The streets are ours. The trains are ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours."
A large, black sign had already appeared at the Oculus transportation hub in lower Manhattan on Friday morning.
A small group of protesters were spotted with a banner at City Hall late Friday morning, and demonstrators were spotted holding doors open so people could get into the subway system for free.
The demonstrators plan to have a "citywide convergence" demonstration at Grand Central Terminal after separate protests throughout the day.
Metro-North, which operates out of the terminal, released a statement saying riders should expect crowding and street closures around Grand Central because of demonstrations. It urged customers to plan extra travel time or consider taking a Friday Early Getaway train.
According to an internal memo obtained by WNBC, NYPD Chief Terence Monahan told command staff on Thursday: "While we will always protect people's right to protest, illegal conduct that puts law-abiding community and cops in danger will not be tolerated in New York City."
Monahan said the group "will attempt to disrupt public transportation, cause disorder—and physically assault police officers" and that "it is imperative that officers take appropriate action and make arrests when they observe a violation of the law."
The NYC Police Benevolent Association reacted to the news in a tweet: "New Yorkers should pay close attention: this is true endgame of the anti-police movement, an end of all policing & destruction of public order. Our members have spent their careers -- and in some cases given their lives -- to bring public safety back to NYC. We can't go backwards."
Just months ago in November, dozens of people were arrested in Harlem in a similar protest. Another protest in November saw 1,000 people protesting in Brooklyn.
