Sunday morning around Union Square

Yesterday's peaceful protests turned chaotic in the late-night hours as demonstrators set fire to nearly a dozen NYPD vehicles around Union Square... it marked the end of the third day of protests against racist police violence in the aftermath of George Floyd's death Monday in Minneapolis.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy surveyed the scene this morning around Union Square, including on University Place where many of the police vehicles — specifically the Homeless Outreach vans — had been parked.

The damage to the 7-Eleven on 14th Street

Most of the damage to East Village businesses last night occurred on Second Avenue between Houston and 12th Street. There were a few exceptions — the Mattress Firm at 250 E. Houston St. ... as well as the 7-Eleven on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy took these photos this morning, showing that the front doors were smashed by unknown objects...



There were other reports of damaged businesses nearby on Broadway and University Place. NBC 4 reported that the North Face and Adidas stores on Broadway were also looted.

A look at last night's damage along 2nd Avenue

Yesterday's mostly peaceful protests turned ugly last night, as demonstrators broke windows along Second Avenue and Broadway, and set fire to multiple police vehicles around Union Square.

Citywide, NBC 4 reported that 345 people were arrested and 33 police officers injured as the protestors and cops clashed late night around several different hotspots, including Union Square.

Along Second Avenue between Houston and 14th Street, windows of each bank branch were smashed ... as well as at the Verizon store and Urban Outfitters. Bus stops and LinkNYC kiosks were also vandalized. In addition, trash cans were upturned and tossed into Second Avenue. There were also reports of several mattress fires ...
















[Photo by Steven]


[TD Bank at 1st Street via Stacie Joy]

Smaller businesses were also hit: The front windows were broken at Kona Coffee and Company between Third Street and Fourth Street, The Gray Mare between Third Street and Fourth Street, Plant Food & Wine at Fourth Street, Cooper's Craft & Kitchen at Fifth Street, Le Fournil Bakery at Seventh Street and B&H between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The protests, which took place in all five boroughs, were in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody.




[St. Mark's Place]

Windows smashed at Le Fournil, and other small businesses along 2nd Avenue

[Photo last night by Jackflashnyc]

A handful of protestors — said to be remants of the day's early peaceful demonstrators — smashed windows along Second Avenue last night. Le Fournil, the French bakery at 115 Second Ave. at Seventh Street, was among the local businesses to suffer damage.


[Reader-submitted photo]


[Photo this morning by Steven]

There were unconfirmed reports that someone attempted to start a fire out front. (Several trash cans and mattresses along the Avenue were set ablaze.)

Ownership shared this on the Le Fournil Instagram account...

View this post on Instagram

#WewillSurvive @lefournilnyc #i❤️baguette

A post shared by Le Fournil Bakery NYC (@lefournilnyc) on May 30, 2020 at 11:06pm PDT

Other damaged storefronts include B&H Dairy...



And further south on Second Avenue ... Cooper's Craft & Kitchen (all photos below by Steven)...



Plant Food & Wine...



The Gray Mare...



Kona Coffee...

[Updated] Thousands march through East Village streets to protest the death of George Floyd

Protestors fanned out across the city today, including two groups who marched through the East Village late this afternoon.

The protests, like others around the country and NYC in recent days, were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this past Monday.

One group, numbering in the hundreds, entered Tompkins Square Park at Ninth Street... and exited on Seventh Street and Avenue B... Steven shared these photos...















Another group, numbering at least 1,000, with a large NYPD presence following along, entered the East Village via Second Avenue.... EVG reader Ben Lebovitz shared these photos on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street...







The blocks-long assemblage turned on Seventh Street, then went south on First Avenue... these reader photos show the size of the crowd on First Avenue ...





... who stopped on Fifth Street, shouting "Black lives matter" and, "No justice, no peace." The NYPD had blocked off Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the location of the 9th Precinct.

Peaceful protestors on 1st Avenue at 5th Street near the 9th Precinct pic.twitter.com/yN9O1bqjyR

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) May 30, 2020

The group then moved on to the north.

There were also reports of protestors outside PS4 on Avenue C and Eighth Street.

While the groups in the East Village early this evening were described as peaceful by passersby, ABC 7 reported that there were at least three dozen arrests in the city today related to the various protests.

The Times has more on today's protests here.

Updated 10 p.m.

There are now reports of broken windows along Second Avenue (the TD Bank location at First Street and Le Fournil Bakery at Seventh Street). There are also reports of several burning vehicles around Union Square.

Another NYPD vehicle taken down in Union Square pic.twitter.com/fWrHkFEQDE

— Jessica Cunnington (@JessicaNews12) May 31, 2020

My photographer Greg Giglione just took this video of two NYPD Vans being lit on fire, near Union Square. A police officer yells that there are bullets inside and for everyone to stay back. We have heard several mini explosions. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/cl9yLCtLkE

— Natalie Duddridge (@NatDuddridgeTV) May 31, 2020

Union Square #GeorgeFlyod pic.twitter.com/yTyoWUkMOt

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) May 31, 2020

And there are reports of trash-can fires on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place...

Trash can fires along 2nd Avenue... #unionsquareprotest #nyc #newyorkprotest @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/VJVKMlEm0e

— Maximillian Piras (@MaximillianNYC) May 31, 2020

Updated 11:10 p.m.

Broken windows at the Adidas store on Broadway at Houston via Dave on 7th...

The door is now open at Lucy's on Avenue A

A welcome sight on Avenue A ... Blanche’s Lucy’s Tavern — aka Lucy’s — is back open now for take-home drinks here at 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to say hello to proprietor Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius, who's serving drinks from a to-go table at the front door...



You can't go inside the longtime bar, where Lucy has been these past 40 years ... but Stacie did get the grand tour (including the basement!)... we'll post those photos at a later date...



Lucy's is open from 4-10 p.m.

Report: Departmental charges recommended for officers involved in violent Avenue D arrest

Several NYPD officers involved in the violent arrest on Avenue D on May 2 will face disciplinary charges, The New York Times reported.

Per the Times:

Investigators with the New York Police Department have recommended misconduct charges against three police officers, including one who sat and knelt on the neck and upper torso of a man he was arresting, a maneuver similar to the one used in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, two people familiar with the matter said.

It is unclear what charges the officers, including Francisco X. Garcia, will face in connection with the investigation of the May 2 incident ... one of several police encounters that led to accusations of racial bias in the enforcement of social distancing, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an internal police investigation.

Departmental charges are expected as soon as next week.

Garcia, who's stationed at PS4 on Avenue C, was stripped of his gun and put on a desk assignment following the ugly confrontation when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated.

Garcia and his partners originally approached a man and a woman outside the corner deli on Ninth and D over a lack of social distancing, police officials previously said. This encounter reportedly led to an arrest on marijuana and weapons charges.

As seen in a widely circulated video shot by a witness, Garcia, who was not in uniform, then walks toward several bystanders, including Donni Wright, a nearby resident who works for the NYCHA. Police officials originally said that Wright took a "fighting stance," which led Garcia to shout the n-word and brandish a taser before wrestling Wright to the ground and kneel on his head.



Back to the Times:

Afterward, the officers filed charges accusing Mr. Wright of assaulting a police officer, but a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said on Friday that prosecutors had dropped the case on May 18. The spokesman, Danny Frost, said prosecutors were still reviewing the officers’ conduct.

As previously reported, the city has paid out nearly $200,000 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran.

Gothamist had more details on some of these incidents:

According to a complaint filed in 2013, Garcia allegedly told a woman eating with her partner inside a Harlem restaurant that she "dressed like a man." When the woman attempted to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly pushed her, then replied: "Take a fucking picture of it, fucking dyke." The city settled that suit for $8,500.

A year later, Garcia was accused of wrongfully arresting a man trying to visit his girlfriend inside a Washington Heights NYCHA building. According to a federal lawsuit, which the city settled for $27,500, Garcia "forced [the man] to the floor face-first," then punched, kicked, and clubbed him.

Meanwhile, Wright "filed a notice of claim announcing his intention to file a $50 million lawsuit against the city."

His lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, also called on the district attorney to bring criminal charges.

"The video, pictures of the truth, clearly call for a criminal investigation of this matter," Mr. Rubenstein said. "The evidence is there."

For further reading: Gothamist has coverage of last night's protest — touched off by the death of George Floyd — in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, which saw the NYPD dousing the crowd with pepper spray and using batons during arrests. More coverage at PIX11.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• In aftermath of Avenue D arrests, pols want answers from city on how social distancing is being enforced

• Investigation for excessive force demanded after social-distancing arrests on Avenue D

• Caravan protest on Avenue C addresses racial bias and police violence in social-distancing arrests

As seen on 2nd Avenue: 'Publicly shame racists'

New work from @captain_eyeliner ... as seen on Second Avenue between First Street and Second Street...

Motivational therapy

British post-punk band IDLES released a new single last week ahead of rumored new full-length record.

The video here for "Mr. Motivator" offers some colorful workout-at-home ideas ...