Protesters on Queens Boulevard (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
June 4, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A tense standoff between a large group of demonstrators and the police almost boiled over in Sunnyside Thursday.
More than 100 protesters blocked up traffic on Queens Boulevard by 47th Street at around 3:40 p.m. and refused to leave unless NYPD officers joined them in taking a knee or raising a fist.
The protesters – who had been marching around Sunnyside/Woodside as part of a thousand-person demonstration – stared down a line of about 20 officers that were stretched across the road.
The protesters kneeled, raised their right fists and chanted “whose streets, our streets, peaceful protest.” They were protesting the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police last week and demanded racial justice.
They also chanted “NYPD, I smell racists” and “how do you spell murderers – NYPD,” at cops.
The police asked the crowd to disperse over an NYPD patrol car speaker – but they refused.
Instead, they shouted “take a knee,” and “raise a fist.” Protesters also chanted Floyd’s name and that of Breonna Taylor – a black woman who was shot eight times by police officers in Kentucky earlier this year.
A higher ranking officer began handing out zip-tie handcuffs to each cop as the crowd grew more vocal. A few minutes later the cops put on riot helmets and showed batons.
Protesters shouted “I don’t see no riot here, put away the riot gear,” and “NYPD fists up, NYPD fists up.” The standoff went on for about 15 minutes.
Another high ranking officer appeared in riot gear and spoke to two female protesters who were at the front of the protest. The women then went back to the crowd and they instructed fellow protesters to take a knee and raise a fist in silence for 30 seconds.
The crowd then dispersed chanting “what’s his name, George Floyd.”
Standoff on #QueensBoulevard –
Protesters stare down #NYPD between 46th & 47th St. Thursday.
They refused to leave unless cops joined them in taking a knee or raising a fist@queenspost @sunnysidepost #ProtestSunnyside #ProtestQueens #PROTESTS2020 pic.twitter.com/S7JQhyUbqA
— Michael Dorgan (@MDorganNYC) June 5, 2020
A high ranking officer appeared in riot gear and spoke with two female protesters.
The pair then went back to the crowd and instructed fellow protesters to take a knee and raise a fist in silence@queenspost @sunnysidepost #ProtestSunnyside #ProtestQueens #PROTESTS2020 pic.twitter.com/WFKC9FCBTu— Michael Dorgan (@MDorganNYC) June 5, 2020
The main demonstration, which was organized by a local activist Tuli Hannan, 18, assembled at Queens Boulevard and 46th Street – under the subway line – at around 1 p.m.
Demonstrators carried signs with “defund the police” “black lives matter,” and “abolish the racist NYPD.”
At around 2:30 p.m. they made their way eastward along Queens Boulevard and turned north onto Roosevelt Avenue. The protesters marched as far as 58th Street before turning around and heading back along Skillman Avenue.
The group turned left at 46th Street and marched southward across Queens Boulevard. They walked to 50th Avenue before turning back and stopping at their original meeting point. The standoff with cops occurred moments later.
Hannan said she organized the event on social media to remember people who have died due to discrimination, inequality, and injustice.
“Our purpose was to show that we will no longer be denied in our society,” Hannan told the Queens Post.
“We will no longer normalize being hated because we are minorities, because of who we are, of our skin tone, of our identity,” she said.
There were two unconfirmed reports of arrests during the march around Sunnyside/Woodside.
Demonstrators at Thursday’s protest in #Sunnyside #QueensBoulevard and 46th Street. @queenspost @sunnysidepost #Queens#ProtestSunnyside #ProtestQueens #PROTESTS2020 pic.twitter.com/fspstnXne2
— Michael Dorgan (@MDorganNYC) June 5, 2020
Demonstrators on the march at Thursday’s protest in #Sunnyside #QueensBoulevard & 46th Street
?️”Say His Name, George Floyd”
?️”No Justice No Peace”
@queenspost @sunnysidepost #Queens#ProtestSunnyside #ProtestQueens #PROTESTS2020 pic.twitter.com/ffEY9h2WxX— Michael Dorgan (@MDorganNYC) June 5, 2020
Protesters on Queens Boulevard (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
Tuli Hannan (black top) leads the march (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
A protester sign (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
Silence is Violence (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
A protester sign (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
28 Comments
Reminder to everyone in the protests: get tested for Covid.
enraged seems a bit strong, given the photo and video evidence
It was under President Obama that immigrant children were out in cages.
You…really didn’t know about Trump’s cages full of immigrant children? Do you even read the news?
It’s because his entire term he’s been too weak to build the border wall he’s proposing (at a HUGE expense to the taxpayer). Immigration has increased under his administration SO much, and was his solution…
Trump pretended he was going to build a wall. When the lie was exposed, there were SO many immigrants coming in he had to keep them in cages.
You really just didn’t know that?!
Hey Trumpster with the autoclicker. Why do you always stop around 500 thumbs up? Why not set the autoclicker to 10000 thumbs up?
@Mike says:
<<we want to hold a police department accountable that has a long history of systemic racism
Check your facts. The statistics do not support this mythology. The statistics indicate that you are 19X likelier to be killed by a white police officer if you are WHITE. The numbers that support this reality are widely available.
So more white people are killed ?♂️
Per capita, black people are much more likely to be killed by a police officer.
I’m just basing that on the official FBI stats for police shootings last year. If you have a single reason to believe anything you said, please share.
Well aren’t you sweet blocking traffic and cursing the police !
Bend the knee and join us or refuse and die.
Enough already… if you abide by the law and comply as directed and with respect to a police officers commands if confronted-then there is no reason to expect mistreatment, regardless of who or what you are. If you’re doing something to get confronted about and show disrespect or put your hands on an officer then you deserve a cracked head. If if you’ve dine nothing you don’t sass, disrespect, or resist a aw officer. There was a time when any dumbass would know that.
How many weren’t filmed? I think about 19….there were 28 shootings of unarmed men by police last year….8 were african american 19 were caucasion. How bout that?
The official FBI crime stats say you’re completely wrong. I’m glad you agree.
Your evidence is videos on YouTube? Yikes…
I miss and love Sunnyside.
Hi Fellow Resident,
You are correct. We want to eliminate a federal agency that locks children in cages, we want to hold a police department accountable that has a long history of systemic racism, and we want wrongly-arrested peaceful protestors out of jail without bail the next day.
That’s the society I want to live in.
Turn off Fox News for a minute, take a walk outside, and have a great day.
The woman who led the protest and was giving out free meals to the protestors along with Singh parliament is Grace Frutos and she co-founded Queens helping hands along with her friends.
The protest was very peaceful but was separated into two groups. The one led by Tuli was led on the side walks but some of us stayed and shut down queens Blvd twice. This one was led by a local sunnysider, Grace Frutos. She led us all the way to the pier then we shut down the Blvd again cutting off traffic till 7:55 when she instructed us to go home to ensure everyone got home safe and the cops wouldn’t have a reason to hurt us! Thank you to her for keeping the whole group safe and united!
How many people couldn’t attend the funeral of a loved one who died of CORONAVIRUS of threat of being arrested? Think about that for a moment. What a shame and a disgrace and a slap in the face to every person who was denied that privilege!
Demanding that cops take a knee?
Isn’t that how this whole mess started?
These clowns are jaw-droppingly clueless.
Murderer takes a knee: good
Football man takes a knee: bad
Does that about sum up what you’re saying?
What do they want? Defund the police? And what, we police ourselves? Who is going to catch criminals? It’s simple, require 24/7 recording, if cops did not activate the body cam, suspend them without pay. Malfunction? Put heavy penalties on manufacturer/contractor, even jail them. Non of this “footage release pending further investigation” nonsense.
Cop haters on the march thanks to feckless politicians who will not protect local businesses and citizens
These young morons need history lessons as they are so brainwashed
Local Latina business owners told me they were very frightened
They were lucky Trumpster Blade Hands wasn’t there.
The position of these “protesters” is based on incorrect facts and is absolute nonsense. There was a rash of break-ins in Sunnyside last year that had many people up in arms.
Keeping that in mind, let’s take an inventory: You want to eliminate ICE, defund the police, and let rioters out of jail without bail the next day.
Who would want to live in that kind of society?
I have been watching all of this on social media. Mayor claims that most of the protesters are not against cops. He was booed loudly yesterday at the brooklyn memorial service and his wife looked like she was about to cry. I need to restock on popcorn ?.
Holding police accountable doesn’t mean you’re against cops. My uncle is an LEO, I’m proud of him, and I don’t like bad cops making him look bad.
Nuance is tough for Trump lovers.
Your story is wrong, it was Grace from Queens Helping Hands who led the protest along with another man.
Your story is wrong the girls that organized the protest left and did not want to block off queens Blvd. I made everyone stay and started out own protest!