Lower East Side against police brutality

Here are more scenes from the protest that started on Avenue D and Ninth Street on Monday night ... one of the many peaceful gatherings citywide against police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

East Village-based photographer Kyle de Vre took these photos from several stops along the march, including East Houston Street and the FDR...

A broken window at Ray's

Over at Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A, someone punched the front door, shattering the glass behind the "Best Egg Cream in Town!" sign late last night.

Ray told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that it happened around 2:30 a.m. The man, who was alone, was angry about something and took it out on the door, which Ray plans on getting repaired.



And, despite the curfew, Ray was apparently busy last night.

'You are here profiting off of our fucking pain'

On Saturday night, while a group of looters were smashing windows and damaging property along Second Avenue, Desiree Barnes made an impassioned plea to the group.

Barnes, reportedly a former aide in the Obama White House, approached the group between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place around 9 p.m. ... where Dan LaDue began capturing her video ...

View this post on Instagram

The last 24 hours have been a journey. After talking with people I respect and some sleep, the right thing to do is for this to stay up. I have to stand by what I know I felt from her in that moment of wanting to get her message out. The resonance from people from all walks of life, all across the board, both sides of the aisle, is something I haven't seen from people in a long time. She's a New Yorker, she knew what she was doing. She's frustrated and wanted to be heard. Some people don't want that opinion heard. And based off the overwhelming amount of messages people sent yesterday, she isn't alone. I stand by what I did. I'm out here now looking for her, hope to have an update soon. Please share, thank you. Edit: the legend @dnbarnes

A post shared by Dan LaDue (@danladue) on Jun 1, 2020 at 11:34am PDT

Starbucks on Astor Place hit again; arrests reported nearby

For the second night, people smashed the windows at the Starbucks on Astor Place... here's a look at the space this morning...



The Foot Locker around the corner on Broadway was reportedly looted, which explains the empty Nike boxes spotted here...



People also broke windows at nearby Astor Place businesses, including the FedEx store, Sweetgreen and Blue Bottle Coffee.

Overall, ABC 7 described it as "a quiet night in New York City, with looters largely absent."

The NYPD used several tactics overnight to crack down on the looting that has plagued the city in recent nights, including arresting non-protesting groups of people after the 8 p.m. curfew went into effect.

If police approached those groups, officials say, many tried to run. Police say they found items like bats and hammers on those they arrested.

The NYPD is reporting 280 arrests.

And some of those arrests occurred on Astor Place and St. Mark's Place, as the NYPD rounded up protestors, and people using the protests as cover, out past the designated 8 p.m. curfew, which is in effect through Sunday. Journalist Bucky Turco reported what he saw via Twitter...

Astor Place Starbucks pic.twitter.com/sAgYxth0nS

— Bucky Turco (@buckyturco) June 3, 2020

Police move in to make arrests on Bowery/St. Mark’s-Astor Place, beat protester with their night sticks. pic.twitter.com/8rilIYV31p

— Bucky Turco (@buckyturco) June 3, 2020

During a short walk through the neighborhood this morning, we didn't spot any signs of break ins or damaged storefronts ... outside of the AP Starbucks...

Plywood report: How neighborhood businesses are protecting their storefronts

[Photo by Steven]

After two nights marked by vandalism and break ins, business owners have been taking extra steps to protect their storefronts ... here's a small sampling ...



Target had their space on 14th Street and Avenue A boarded up on Sunday, which didn't prevent people from getting inside last night... appears that they added an extra layer of plywood...




[Photo by Steven]




[Photo by Steven]


[Photo by Steven]




[The former Gem Spa via Steven]

Some business owners are also using their gates to share supportive messages...


[Photo by Steven]


[Three Kings Tattoo on 10th Street]




[Photo by Lola Saénz]

Scenes from the start of last night's peaceful protest on Avenue D

Hundreds of people gathered last evening on Avenue D and Ninth Street — one of the many peaceful gatherings citywide against police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The starting point for this protest is also the spot where several NYPD officers were involved in violent arrests on May 2.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was at the start of the protest, which moved along Ninth Street to Avenue C and eventually to East Houston... the final stop was the Barclay's Center...

A break-in at Ben & Jerry's on St. Mark's Place

More reader reports are coming in about East Village businesses broken into last night... Ben & Jerry's on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue took a hit... EVG reader Lola Saénz took these photos...





An ATM on the block was also cleaned out...



There are more reader reports of break-ins, including the Domino's on 14th Street and the Target on 14th and A.

2 break-ins on Avenue A: Village Square Pizza, Tompkins Finest Deli & Grill

Two businesses on Avenue A between Ninth Street and 10th Street were burglarized last night.

The front door was smashed in at Village Square Pizza... not known at the moment what was taken...



A few storefronts away, Tompkins Finest Deli & Grill was damaged during last night's break-in...





An EVG reader sent this message just before midnight:

Called 911 23 minutes ago about a group of people breaking into bodega on Avenue A ... they still haven’t come. The looters filled up a car full of shit, threw the register into the street and bragged about where they are heading next.

And in a subsequent message: "No cops have come. And they’re long gone."

Given the timing of the break-in, this occurred roughly 30 minutes after the start of last night's 11 o'clock curfew.

These are the latest break-ins in the East Village. A group of seven men burglarized more than a dozen businesses late Sunday night.