REUTERS/JEENAH MOON
Protesters flee as they loot the Balenciaga store in SoHo after marching against the death in
Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd in Manhattan on June 2, 2020.
Shame of a city:
Looting rampage
undermines the
protests in New York
BY ROBERT
POZARYCKI
While thousands took
to the streets Monday
to seek justice in the
wake of the police-involved death
of Minneapolis’ George Floyd,
hundreds used the event as cover
to go on a looting rampage across
New York City.
As night fell, the looters
smashed and bashed their way
into shuttered stores in Manhattan,
from designer retailers in
SoHo to chain pharmacies in
Midtown. They even hit up a few
banks and pried open the ATMs
for the cash inside.
Even the iconic Macy’s
department store in Herald
Square wasn’t spared, as looters
vandalized the landmark retailer
and set fi res outside it.
The 11 p.m. curfew couldn’t
stop the shopping spree, as the
frenzy went on into the wee hours
of Tuesday morning. Neither
could the plywood barriers or
roll-down gates that the retailers
employed. That led to an earlier
curfew, starting at 8 p.m., each
night for the remainder of the
week.
Police reported at least 700
arrests citywide for looting as of
9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Throughout Monday, public
offi cials warned residents about
looting, vandalism, assaults on
police offi cers and other acts that
served to undermine the message
of the peaceful protests following
Floyd’s death last week. The
pursuit of criminal justice reform
by the many, they argued, would
be overshadowed by the criminal
acts of the few advantageous
individuals.
Still, the shameful looting went
on — and New Yorkers who want
peace and justice were left to ask,
“Why?”
REUTERS/EDUARDO MUNOZ
NYPD officers try to take control of the Soho area as they
detain protesters who were looting in local stores after
marching against the death in Minneapolis police custody of
George Floyd, in the Manhattan borough of New York City,
U.S., June 2, 2020.
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Looters figured out how to breach the rolldown gates of this
Foot Locker store on Broadway in the East Village
on June 1, 2020.
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Police look at some of the damage done by looters at the
Nordstrom Rack store in Union Square on June 1, 2020
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Looters at the Foot Locker on Broadway in the East Village
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
The ransacked interior of the Zumiez store in Union Square
on June 1, 2020.
10 June 4, 2020 Schneps Media