protests throughout the borough
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 5-11, 2020 3
city and the state level.
“Hopefully we’ll take that
on and do that shortly,” he
said.
The senator also called on
the NYPD to “be better” after
the department has come
under fire for their actions in
Brooklyn on Friday.
“You saw what happened
Friday night, they were too
quick to turn to aggressive
and violent actions — opening
their doors and knocking people
over, pushing women down
on the floor. They have to get a
lot better,” Gianaris said.
By 6:05 p.m., the crowd had
started to disperse before the
protest ended around 7:30 p.m.
Police could not immediately
comment on how many
arrests — if any — were made
during the protest.
“There’s protests everywhere
in the city,” a spokesperson
said.
And they didn’t stop on Saturday.
One day after the mostly
peaceful protest in Jackson
Heights, demonstrators
marched down the streets of
Jamaica.
One demonstrator, Aleeia
Abraham, posted a video on
Facebook showing police officers
kneeling in solidarity
with protesters, many of whom
could be heard cheering and
thanking the officers for their
show of support.
One of the officers shown
kneeling in the video is Deputy
Inspector Vincent Tavalaro,
the commanding officer of the
103rd Precinct in Jamaica.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot
Shea also praised the moment
of solidarity on Twitter.
“We need more of this, to
see and hear each other, to
work together, to recognize
that our differences are our
strength,” Shea said.
The demonstration in Jamaica,
the protest in Jackson
Heights on Saturday and a
separate protest at Flushing
Meadows Corona Park Sunday
evening did not escalate the
way demonstrations had in
Brooklyn and Manhattan over
the weekend.
The trend continued into
Monday, when hundreds of
people attended a protest in
Astoria Park to honor Floyd’s
memory. The protest later
turned into a vigil and remained
peaceful throughout.
The gathering began
around 7 p.m., four hours before
the curfew created by
Governor Cuomo and Mayor
de Blasio earlier in the day.
The curfew was intended to
prevent the looting, vandalism
and fires seen during protests
in Brooklyn and Manhattan
during the four previous
nights.
And while the damage was
controlled a little more than
it had been in previous days
in Manhattan and Brooklyn,
Queens saw its first looting
scare.
On Monday afternoon, traffic
was delayed near Queens
Center Mall due to the presence
of emergency personnel in response
to reported looting.
Video that surfaced on social
media Monday afternoon
showed a group of people running
around the mall attempting
to kick through boarded
up windows.
The situation did not appear
to be a protest related to
Floyd’s death and the continuation
of police violence against
black men and women across
the country, but rather a previously
planned “loot out” that
had allegedly been scheduled
to begin at the mall, located at
90-15 Queens Blvd., around 1
p.m., according to a notice obtained
by QNS.
An NYPD spokesperson
confirmed with QNS that the
110th Precinct had received
several calls regarding the
situation and had sent officers
to the area, but could not offer
confirmation of any violence,
vandalism or arrests made at
the scene.
Another video surfaced on
Twitter that has since been
deleted showed police vehicles
following a group of people
who seemed to be running
away from the mall.
Councilman Robert Holden
later said that he had spoken
with the commanding officer
of the 110th Precinct, who told
him that there was no looting
of the Queens Center Mall.
Protests continued in Astoria
and Bayside on Tuesday,
June 2.
In Astoria, hundreds of
people marched from Steinway
Street and 30th Avenue to
Astoria Boulevard, stopping
in front of the 114th Precinct.
In Bayside, protesters
marched down Northern
Boulevard towards the 111th
Precinct.
Upon arriving at the 111th
Precinct, the group took a knee
and held a second moment of
silence. Following the moment
of silence, speeches were given
in support of justice for Black
Americans, before the march
continued on.
With protests expected to
carry on throughout the week,
Mayor de Blasio announced an
8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew to be enforced
every night this week.
Police officers kneel with protesters in Jamaica. Photo via Twitter/ @NYPDQueensSouth
A woman takes part in a rally at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
/QNS.COM
