Anti-police violence organization Millions March NYC this morning began occupying City Hall Park in Downtown Manhattan, demanding NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton's immediate resignation and an end to his signature Broken Windows policing.

"We're not targets," Millions March organizer Cleo Jeffryes told us last month, when the occupation was announced. "We're human beings. Bill Bratton is a racist and a bigot who's done so much to harm the black and brown community."



(Jen Chung / Gothamist)

Timing the action to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, in Ferguson, Missouri, occupiers are also demanding reparations for victims of police brutality out of the NYPD budget. Finally, the group is demanding that City Hall reinvest the NYPD's $5.5 billion budget in working-class communities of color.

"Organizers plan to occupy space until demands are met," Millions March stated last week.

According to Jeffryes, the occupation is inspired by similar protests in Los Angeles that have called for the resignation of police chief Charlie Beck.

Organizers will conduct medical training to prepare for tear gas deployment, and plan to set up a kitchen and an Amazon account to get donations if the occupation holds overnight. Staying through the night is technically a violation of the park's midnight curfew.



(Jen Chung / Gothamist)

Shut Down City Hall NYC officially began at 9:00 a.m. We observed between three and four dozen occupiers about an hour into the occupation, and nearly 60 by 10:45 a.m. There were several dozen police officers in and around the park—at least eight of them white shirts. The mood was calm, as protesters unfurled banners and set up tables laden with Black Lives Matter and "Rise Up!" pins, and issues of Socialist Alternative.

Shortly before 11:00 a.m., organizers gathered to state their demands and addressed the steadily-expanding group of occupiers about their legal rights. Speakers called for the "abolition" of policing.

"Policing is a violent, anti-Black institution that originated as slave patrols," Millions March writes in its guide to this week's action, adding, "we fight for the abolition of policing and prisons and will not be fooled or derailed by fake reforms like body cameras and so called community policing, which further increase the budget and power of the racist and brutal NYPD."

"They [police] enforce the white supremacists' hierarchy," Vienna Rye, 24, an organizer with Millions March, told the crowd. An older woman interrupted repeatedly with shouts of "Kill the killers!" and organizers stepped up, urging her not to interrupt the planned address.

Legal observers prepare the crowd for possible arrests at #ShutDownCityHallNYC pic.twitter.com/n4PUAICtxK — Alexander Rubinstein (@AlexR_DC) August 1, 2016

Around noon, a 35-year-old man from Queens in a Black Lives Matter t-shirt started a chant of "All Lives Matter!" ("Not only black lives."). He then modified his chant to join a group of surrounding occupiers: "All lives matter, when black lives matter!"

This week's occupation was announced in mid-July, soon after Commissioner Bratton criticized the Black Lives Matter movement on talk radio, charging that protesters were unfairly targeting police and, rather than engaging with dialogue with said police, "engaging in protests where there is a lot of yelling and screaming." In the weeks since, Bratton has announced that he will step down from his post by late next year.

"He needs to go now," said Rye. "So many black and brown people are in [jail at] Rikers because they didn't have $2.75 in subway fare. Meanwhile killer cops are on paid leave."

By focusing on low-level quality of life issues like excessive noise and public drinking, Bratton has argued, the NYPD can deter more serious crimes like assault and murder. A recent Department of Investigation report cuts against the assumptions, finding no demonstrable link between low-level arrests and felonious crime. Meanwhile, Broken Windows policing is disproportionately applied against African-American and Hispanic New Yorkers.

Kenneth Shelton, 20, from Queens, arrived early on Monday, to show support before heading to work at the Campaign Finance Board. "We want money in our communities instead of in police," he said.

2 corrections busses parked 1 block away from #SHUTDOWNCITYHALLNYC pic.twitter.com/4TfhUdnVeS — Bexa Dale (@reallyrebekah) August 1, 2016

Organizers clarified Monday that events have been scheduled for the late afternoon and evening to accommodate people who aren't able to occupy during the day. Tonight, occupiers will rally at the park at 6:00 p.m.

The Facebook event for the occupation has more details on protocol, protesters' rights, and court and jail support. Here's a link [PDF] to the occupation orientation guide. Participants are tweeting with #SHUTDOWNCITYHALLNYC.

The occupation is explicitly disassociated from any potentially-sympathetic politicians. "Millions March NYC does not support, endorse, or organize with any person or group that works, in any capacity, for or within the system," the group wrote on Facebook Monday. "Including but not limited to politicians, elected & non-elected government officials, & other political figures & establishment types."

"New York City has a longstanding history of supporting public expression, and we believe in all New Yorkers’ rights to peacefully make their voices heard," said Mayoral Spokeswoman Monica Klein on Monday. "Our city's parks are for the public to enjoy, and NYPD will be on hand to make sure the area is safe and that access is not disrupted by these demonstrations."

Reporting by Jen Chung.