Large crowds of protesters converged around Bryant Park in Midtown on Saturday as part of a series of nationwide demonstrations against Trump administration policies.
The march was planned as part of a “National Day of Action” organized by the group 50501 – or 50 States, 50 Protests, 1 Movement – which calls itself a “decentralized, people-powered network of resistance and resilience.” 50501 spokesperson Hunter Dunn said over 900 events took place across the country on Saturday.
On its website, the group states that it opposes the influence of billionaires, economic injustice, attacks on democracy and executive overreach. Attendees at Saturday’s protest rally also held a wide range of signs related to the causes that inspired them to take to the streets that afternoon – like the war in Gaza, and, with Earth Day coming up, ending the city’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Brooklynite Gregory Goings said his daughter’s climate activism influenced him, and he added that more people need to get involved.
“New York has to take the lead in resisting Trump’s agenda because New York is the most progressive place in the country and needs to step up,” Goings said. “And Hochul is not quite doing it.”
Paul Greenberg, who lives in the Financial District, said Republicans should do more to help hunters and anglers by protecting public lands and clean water.
“To me, it’s amazing that there’s not more of an outcry from the right when the very fundaments of their sport and their identity are being directly targeted,” Greenberg said.
Others opposed the United States' foreign policy, as well as recent deportations by the Trump administration.
“The militarization of the world by the United States, all of that, the money is going to deportation,” said Margery Freeman of the Bronx. “It’s going to the military. It’s going to continuing the fights in Palestine. We don’t want that.”
Saturday’s march came two weeks after the Hands Off! protests, which drew millions of people to over 1,300 events nationwide, according to the organizer’s website. The ongoing Tesla Takedown protests targeting Elon Musk’s company Tesla are also part of the same decentralized movement, Dunn told NPR.
This story may be updated.
