Bay Ridge sees back-to-back peaceful
protests despite rumors of rioting
BY JESSICA PARKS
As Brooklynites join demonstrators
across the country to
decry racism and police brutality,
two peaceful protests in Bay
Ridge drew more than 100 people
on Sunday and Monday nights —
less than 24 hours after rumors
circulated about riots in the same
spot.
On Sunday, a group of about 50
teens and young adults descended
on the corner of 86th Street and
Fifth Avenue after a fl yer circulated
on social media advertising
the demonstration in protest of
the killing of George Floyd.
Neighborhood group Bay
Ridge Cares, the organization
said to be behind the protest, denied
their involvement in a Twitter
post, and area Councilman
Justin Brannan said the protest
was staged by agitators aiming to
stroke anger and riot.
“These sociopaths have only
one goal and that is to weaponize
the idea of a peaceful protest
to sow fear and chaos,” the Bay
Ridge councilman tweeted, alleging
the event was being staged by
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“astroturf” agitators.
Not everyone heeded the councilman’s
warnings. One hour after
Sunday’s protest was set to commence,
dozens of young people
gathered at the advertised starting
point to commence their own
peaceful march.
“People were saying it was a
hoax,” said 31-year-old Bay Ridge
resident Aron Young, who participated
in the commandeered demonstration.
“Around nine o’clock
is when we started hearing people
chant — it was all young people.”
Young said Sunday night’s
spur-of-the-moment protest was
disorganized at fi rst — until a 12-
year-old girl, accompanied by her
mother, stepped up to take charge.
The girl led the march of about
50 people from 86th Street to 75th
Street, Young said.
Brannan took to social media
to share the heartwarming story
of the nonviolent group’s efforts to
overwhelm the apparent effort to
stir up confl ict.
“Some astroturf agitators
spent the day trying to scare folks
with explicit promises of looting &
violence once the sun went down,”
he tweeted. “Their plan was
thwarted by 30-40 fi red up young
folks who protested peacefully as
neighbors cheered in support!”
Protesters kept the momentum
going on Monday, when more than
100 locals again gathered at 6 pm
in the same spot to stand in peaceful
solidarity with demonstrators
across the country.
Marchers took to both of
the neighborhood’s commercial
strips, chanting phrases like
“Black lives matter” and “Hands
up, don’t shoot” — calls that,
Young said, were often echoed
by residents watching from their
apartment windows.
Lifelong Bay Ridge resident
Shannon Legg said the protest —
though much smaller than other
demonstrations across the borough
— was unlike anything she’s
ever seen in her hometown.
“It was really emotional seeing
the overwhelming turn out
for the demonstration. From people
marching, to people driving
by, to people coming out of their
homes to support. I’ve been in
the neighborhood my entire life
and I have never seen anything
like it before,” she said. “With all
of the unrest and destruction we
are seeing on TV about what is
happening with protests in other
locations it is really important to
show our neighbors that that is
not always the case. There was no
violence. No clashes with police.
The group even stopped for an ambulance
to pass willingly. We got
our point across while remaining
peaceful.”
Police offi cers were supportive
of the movement both evenings,
Young said, and members of the
68th Precinct gave demonstrators
space to protest while safely containing
the march to the sidewalk.
“They weren’t against us,”
Young said. “They wanted us to
exercise our protests as long as we
did it in a civil matter.”
To further show their support,
some offi cers even marched alongside
protesters on the fi rst night,
Young said.
“That in itself says a lot,” he
told Brooklyn Paper.
Protesters gathered in Bay Ridge on Sunday and Monday. Shannon Legg
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