NYC: City Hall Park Occupied, Police Commissioner Resigns

Workshop by NYC anarchist action on the racist history of the police at #SHUTDOWNCITYHALLNYC. #AbolishPolice pic.twitter.com/pcQveHIblq

— Millions March NYC (@MillionsMarch) August 1, 2016

Submitted to It’s Going Down

The war for black lives and the struggle against the police in NYC has taken a new direction with the advent of a militant occupation outside of City Hall. Even before the occupation the revolutionary line was set in Millions March NYC’s orientation guide: “We are a network of revolutionary political organizers dedicated to the abolition of the repressive apparatus of the U.S. state, which includes but is not limited to the police, judicial system, prison system, and major political parties.”

NYC Anarchist Action is in total agreement with this position and has been struggling in tandem with Millions March NYC and the other organizations to make these political goals a reality. The immediate demands of the occupation were: defund the NYPD, fire police commissioner Bill Bratton, and give reparations to families of victims of the police violence. As the occupation develops, together we will create a stronger, more dynamic revolutionary current in NYC.

On the first day of the occupation we ejected a racist, Donald Trump supporter from the park, ensuring that people know the far-Right will not be tolerated. And with a clever bait and switch tactic we confounded the police, marching to a nearby park with 24 hour access. As we celebrated, police studied the park rules meticulously trying to find a way to evict occupants. A rental truck arrived right on time and people gathered to unload sleeping bags and pads. As we wake up this morning the occupation stands. The police were outmaneuvered tactically and outpaced politically.

People initially thought the occupation wouldn’t hold, but with resilience and ingenuity we defeated the odds and not only continued the action but have succeeded in one of the goals. NYC police commissioner, the architect of broken windows policing, announced he is resigning after the very first day of the occupation. We have no illusions about the political machinations of those in power, or the wretched gallows of the bureaucratic death machine that is the NYPD, but on this day, after so many months of struggle we can all hold our heads high, with our fists in the air as the first domino has fallen.

NYC Anarchist Action calls for anarchists around the city and country to celebrate this first victory with us and engage in the continuing struggle. The political terrain has changed as people have realized that this system cannot be reformed, and begin to strive to create a liberatory alternative. 

As political events move quick we will continue to fight and push for the total abolition of capital, the state, and white supremacy, while advocating the immediate formation of councils and communes as organs of resistance and life. Bratton has fallen and there is more to come in the near future.

Resistance is life.

NYC Anarchist Action