An NYPD van on Smith Street in downtown Brooklyn was vandalized Tuesday night during a protest in response
to the killing of Walter Wallace, Jr. in Philadelphia. Photo by Caroline Ourso
BY BEN VERDE
Roughly 30 protesters were
arrested in Downtown Brooklyn
on Tuesday night after a
protest against the police killing
of Walter Wallace Jr. in
Philadelphia turned chaotic.
Hundreds of protesters
dressed in black marched
from Fort Greene Park to
Downtown Brooklyn on Oct.
27, with some in the crowd
lighting trash fi res and
smashing store windows
and bus stop shelters along
the way. In all, nine police
vehicles and 39 storefronts
mostly belonging to banks
and chains were vandalized,
according to police spokesperson
Detective Denise Moroney.
The group was marching
for Wallace, a 27-year-old
Black man who was shot and
killed by Philadelphia police
while armed with a knife on
Oct. 26 after suffering a mental
breakdown.
Wallace’s killing was
caught on cellphone video,
and large protests have overtaken
COURIER L 4 IFE, OCT. 30-NOV. 5, 2020
Philadelphia and other
cities following his killing. A
GoFundMe has also been set
up for Wallace’s family.
Protesters have demanded
the Philadelphia Police Department
release the names
of the offi cers responsible for
Wallace’s death.
Offi cers from the NYPD’s
Strategic Response Group
descended upon protesters
shortly after 10 p.m. and arrested
dozens of demonstrators
as an automated message
played over a police
loudspeaker informed them
that the gathering had been
deemed unlawful. Many were
taken in despite attempts to
leave the scene.
One woman could be heard
on video demanding to know
where cops were taking her
husband. Meanwhile, a black
car with Taxi and Limousine
Commission plates had
its windows smashed by offi -
cers wielding batons as they
tried to pass through a line of
bike cops on Atlantic Avenue
between Smith Street and
Boerum Place. One of those
arrested was a legal observer,
according to witnesses.
Arrested protesters face
charges for assaulting a police
offi cer, obstructing governmental
administration,
unlawful assembly, disorderly
conduct and making
graffi ti. Five police offi cers
sustained minor injuries, according
to Maroney.
During a Wednesday
press briefi ng, Mayor de Blasio
condemned the protesters,
and said those who acted
violently should face consequences.
“I want to make clear
that no violence is acceptable,
if it’s violence towards
individuals, citizens, if its
violence against police officers
— absolutely unacceptable,”
he said. “There must
be consequences.”
‘Doomsday’ for MTA
could mean hour waits
for subways and buses
A crowded 5 train at Borough Hall. File photo by Chandler Kidd
BY MARK HALLUM
The transit advocacy
group Riders Alliance’s latest
study shows that “doomsday”
cuts to MTA bus and subway
service could increase wait
times by anywhere from 15
minutes to an hour depending
on routes and train lines.
The MTA has said service
may be slashed by up to
40 percent, and the authority
has repeatedly called on
the federal government to
provide fi nancial relief as
the COVID-19 pandemic has
stripped the agency of much
of its revenue. But the Republican
led Senate, under
the leadership of Kentucky
Senator Mitch McConnell,
has ignored their pleas since
April.
Without the $12 billion requested
of the federal government
to see the MTA through
the end of 2021, the Riders Alliance
study shows that with
doomsday cuts commute
times, especially for minority
groups and those working
the healthcare industry, will
face even longer commutes
that the current 51 minute
average.
“Transit service cutbacks
will rob hours of precious
time from millions of New
Yorkers every week,” Riders
Alliance Executive Director
Betsy Plum said. “Public
transit is the lifeblood of the
city and the lifeline of millions
of hard working Americans
struggling to support
their families and communities.
The House of Representatives
has voted twice
to save transit and now the
White House and Senate
must act on pandemic transit
relief.”
The MTA made no dispute
of the projections set forth
by the Riders Alliance nor
did they discredit the lack of
funding will have on essential
workers in particular as
New York City enters winter
with the expectation of a
surge in coronavirus cases.
“This report by the Riders’
Alliance underscores
what we’ve been saying all
along: access to transit is undeniably
an equity issue,”
MTA Spokesman Aaron
Donovan said. “As with any
potential service cuts, the
harshest consequences are
borne by those who rely on us
most. If the federal government
wants to honor doctors,
nurses, police offi cers, transit
workers, pharmacy assistants,
grocery staff who are
carrying us through this crisis,
Washington will provide
$12 billion in funding instead
of ripping their commute out
from under them.”
MTA Chairman Pat Foye
has laid out that train wait
times could increase by eight
minutes on subways and
by up to fi fteen minutes for
buses. A proposed a $1 fare
increase alongside the 40 percent
“doomsday” service cuts
may be on the table if the federal
government does not follow
through. Altogether, the
MTA could be looking at a $16
billion budget gap by 2024,
something they have considered
borrowing to alleviate.
If the agency borrows that
$10 billion from the federal
government to fund their
operations, their debt could
increase from $35.4 billion
to $50.4 billion by 2024. Repaying
lenders could take
up a quarter of every dollar
the MTA makes in revenue
by 2023, according to a report
from state Comptroller
Thomas DiNapoli.
‘THERE MUST BE
CONSEQUENCES’
30 cuffed as Downtown BK protest leads to chaos