Re: Barricades (was: NYC residents, workers sue EPA over airquality after 9/11 attacks

Here's something to be aware of about NYPD.  I'm not sure if anyone here
was in the antiwar protest last year in New York, but from what I heard,
they used barricades that /will keep you from getting to the
demonstration/.  It's expected to happen again next week, and can only
expected to be even worse come september.

/a

here's an action alert:

> MARCH 20th ALERT - IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
>
> As tens of thousands of people from around the Northeast prepare to join
> us for the antiwar demonstration in New York City on March 20th, we need
> to call your attention to some important information. We have worked out
> an agreement with the NYC Police Department for the assembly area and
> March route. At the same time, the police told us they are planning on
> constructing barricades on Madison Ave. In other words, as people gather
> for the demonstration the police will direct everyone into barricaded
> areas within each block, and then use them again for the post-march
> rally.
>
> Based on many experiences over the past ten years or so, we believe this
> is not a good plan and raised our objections to their plan at our last
> meeting with the police. The use of these barricades is part of the
> national assault on everyone's civil liberties and ability to dissent;
> mounting a campaign to stop their use is directly connected to the
> issues we are raising on March 20th. It is especially important to
> protest their use now in NYC where police efforts to contain protesters
> last year were criticized by a wide spectrum of people and forced public
> and media scrutiny of police tactics. We must do everything possible to
> make sure the police are not allowed to curtail peaceful protest this
> year.
>
> The use of barricades undermines our constitutionally protected right to
> assemble. They break us into small units; make it very hard for people
> to find one another as they are assembling and for contingents to form.
> Because the police control when they are opened (or closed) they can be
> used to break up the flow of the march and in that way make us look
> smaller than we really are. The police say they use the barricades for
> safety reasons. We agree on their need to maintain a lane on Madison
> Ave. for emergency vehicles, we have no problem with that. That lane is
> set aside precisely to help the police should emergency access be
> needed. The barricades do not provide easier or quicker access for the
> police. In fact, sometimes the barricades can lead to tensions and in so
> doing make an otherwise safe situation less safe. We urge you to stand
> up for your right to unimpeded access: join us in this effort to stop
> the use of police barricades at the March 20th demonstration.
>
> Here's what you can do:
>
> a) Contact both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray
> Kelly. Let them know you oppose the use of police barricades. They
> should publicly state that no barricades will be used, and at a minimum
> they should agree to meet with the demonstration organizers to discuss
> the situation. Call or fax them TODAY!
>
> Mayor Michael Bloomberg Phone: 212-788-3000 Fax: 212-788-9711
>
> Police Commissioner Ray Kelly
> Phone: 646-610-5410
> Fax: 646-610-5865
>
> b) Circulate this memo widely. It is important that we get word out
> quickly and to as many people as possible.
>
> c) Do everything you can to help build the March 20th demonstration.
> Hand out leaflets, make phone calls, use your email address book, and
> make announcements at meetings or events you attend. Our strongest tool
> is our numbers.
>
> We do not know if we will be able to stop the police from using the
> barricades on March 20th, although we do know that we must take a
> strong, unified stand about their use! And whatever the outcome of this
> effort is, whether the police use the barricades or not, we are
> confident that March 20th will be a powerful day as people from many
> diverse communities come together to express our common concerns. Our
> strength is in both our diversity and our numbers....and we will be on
> the streets of New York on March 20th in tremendous numbers.
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