Tens of thousands took to the streets Saturday to protest police brutality, dwarfing earlier demonstrations against the lack of indictments in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Starting at 2pm and lasting into the night, “Millions March NYC” kicked off in Washington Square Park, paraded up Sixth Avenue to Herald Square, and then came back down Broadway toward One Police Plaza.
Thought that route was planned, there were splinter groups. Around 8pm, a few hundred marchers crossed into the East Village and took over Third Avenue. Police officers sitting in a trio of NYPD buses parked outside of Village Pourhouse, where a SantaCon party raged, did nothing to stop demonstrators as they marched toward Union Square.
Bars officially participating in SantaCon this year were confined to Hell’s Kitchen and Murray Hill, but dozens of Santas and elves packed into East Village spots like The 13th Step and Continental. Some carousers crossed paths with the march: at Broadway and Houston, a man in a penguin suit responded to chants of “Hands up, don’t shoot” by raising the roof as he waddled across the intersection. Several Santas joined in the march; another was seen giving protesters the finger.
Click through Scott Lynch’s photos to see that shot and more, and look for the “Eric Garner Eyes” by JR and the “Real Thugs Wear Flag Pins” banner by Gilf!.
