14 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 27, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
BLM demonstrators protest at PBA president’s Bayside home
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Bayside’s Black Lives Matter group,
along with other groups from Queens
and around the city, marched toward
the home of Pat Lynch, the president
of the Police Benevolent Association,
onWednesday, Aug. 19.
More than 50 people walked on the
sidewalks from the Auburndale LIRR
station to Lynch’s home. Th e demonstrators
were almost immediately met
by about four police cars and approximately
a dozen offi cers on foot. People
on bicycles acted as barricades between
the police and demonstrators during
their route.
Police barricaded one entire block
near Lynch’s home, which is located at
203rd Street and 50th Avenue.
When marchers arrived to Lynch’s
street, they were met with a barricaded
block and more than two dozen offi cers,
as well as PBA members behind the barricades
and on the sidelines.
Demonstrators then took turns speaking
about the PBA’s recent endorsement
of President Donald Trump as well as
what they said are “racist” statements
Lynch has made in the past.
Jessica, an organizer with the Bayside
BLM, who asked that her last name not
be revealed for safety reasons, said several
activists planned this action for
some time.
“Aft er the PBA’s endorsement of
Trump, something that had not been
done before, we felt the urgency to
move forward with this action,” she said.
“Patrick Lynch has been on the radar
for years with his racist, bigoted statements,
even being publicly criticized by
previous police commissioners for his
belief that police offi cers are above the
law. For the PBA to endorse a president
whose exact words were, ‘don’t be too
nice’ when making arrests and whose
entire platform is driven by racist and
xenophobic propaganda is an absolute
disgrace.”
At the demonstration, they talked
about Lynch’s comments regarding a
recent incident in Hell’s Kitchen, in
which more than 30 police offi cers,
including some in riot gear, kept Derrick
Ingram — an activist with Warriors in
the Garden, a large nonviolent group of
advocates from across New York City —
in his apartment for almost six hours.
Th e offi cers left the scene aft er a few
dozen protesters met them outside of
his apartment asking to see a warrant.
Th e police did not have a warrant,
but said Ingram was under investigation
for allegedly yelling into an offi cer’s
ear with a bullhorn, causing the offi cer
to seek medical attention. Police have
not provided video or other evidence of
whether the incident occurred.
In response to the incident, Lynch
said, “Is there any doubt who is in
charge in this city now? Th e criminal
mob is dictating their terms to the
NYPD brass and district attorneys,
who are tripping over themselves to
comply. Police offi cers want to know:
What are we still doing out here?
Why are our leaders sending us out
to enforce laws they don’t believe in?
And what are we supposed to tell the
New Yorkers who are watching us
retreat while violence overwhelms
their streets?”
Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the
NYPD for the standoff , saying it “was
not the rightway to do things.”
Jessica said the police actions that day
— which included drones, helicopters,
canine units and snipers — were “the
biggest threat to our community.”
“Th anks to ProPublica we’ve uncovered
that at every protest we’ve organized
and attended, multiple offi cers
facing us at the front lines have charges
and settlements listed for misconduct
and excessive force ultimately paid for
by us, the taxpayers,” she added.
Jessica also presented police offi cers
standing near the barricades with coins,
symbolizing “NYPD Challenge Coins,”
which aremembers-only memorabilia
with roots in the U.S. military.
Protesters chanted “Th is stops today,”
as well as some expletives calling
for police accountability and for the
NYPD’s $6 billion dollar budget to be
defunded.
Lynch did not come out at any point
of the demonstration. Aft er about an
hour, protesters left Lynch’s block to
march toward Northern Boulevard and
the 111th Precinct.
Police cars and offi cers on foot followed
closely behind as the protesters
marched. Th e demonstrators received
some cheers and honks of support, as
well as shouts of disapproval.
Like other instances of protests, the
precinct was barricaded while demonstrators
shouted more chants, including,
“How do you spell fascist? NYPD!”
One Auburndale resident told QNS
they’ve noticed barricades, not in use,
near the precinct since the weekend.
Steve Gansham, a Bayside resident
who said he’s neighbors with Lynch,
joined the demonstration. Last year,
Gansham was one of twomen who live
within a few blocks of Lynch’s home
to have gotten arrested and charged
with second-degree menacing and
harassment, according to the Queens
Chronicle. Aft er an investigation, the
case was adjudicated.
Gansham said Lynch “tried to put him
in jail.” At the precinct, he shouted, “We
want Lynch out of Bayside.”
Th e march then turned toward Bell
Boulevard, where some demonstrators
burned a small U.S. fl ag and left it on
the pavement, where it extinguished
with the wind.
Th e march ended at about 9 p.m.,
with protesters taking down the larger
fl ag at the LIRR Bayside station. Many
of them then got on the next train
toward Penn Station, with some staying
behind while four police cars stopped
next to them and later patrolled the
vicinity of the LIRR station.
Lynch told QNSthe NYPD will “protectyour
right to protest wherever it can
be done safely and legally, including in
front of my house.”
“But these protestors should realize
they are wasting their time.
Th eir campaign of harassment
and intimidation might have the
politicians running scared, but
it will have zero impact on the
PBA,” Lynch added. “It also isn’t
helping New Yorkers who feel under
siege aft er months of brutal violence on
our streets. Our neighborhoods want
cops focused on stopping the bloodshed,
not wrangling a bunch of protestors
who biked in from Manhattan.”
Th e NYPD did not respond to questions
regarding the police presence at
the protest.
Jessica said the people “refuse to foot
the bill for the NYPD’s senseless and
aggressive antics towards its citizens.”
“We demand change, and in light of
the recent statement released by Patrick
Lynch, the ‘campaign of harassment and
intimidation’ which has been utilized
by the NYPD fi rst and foremost, will
not have any impact on our movement,”
she said. “We are not going anywhere.
History has its eyes on you, Mr. Lynch.”
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