It was a fruitful protest.
Two individuals have been arrested Saturday morning as protesters efficiently stalled town’s efforts to cut down cherry bushes at Corlears Hook Park close to the Williamsburg Bridge.
William Talen, 71, and Francis Pondolfino, 64, have been charged with legal trespass and obstructing governmental administration after refusing instructions to depart a fenced-in space at 6:55 a.m., cops mentioned.
The 2 had wrapped their arms round a cherry tree impeding metropolis contractors, who referred to as 911.
Close by, a number of girls sat on the bottom for hours, blocking vans that finally rotated, with out chopping down the cherry bushes. Different protesters close by chanted.
“They don’t must kill the cherry bushes. That is Cherry Avenue. What, is that this now Avenue Avenue, with out the cherry bushes?” mentioned Alison Colby, 62, an East Village resident and manufacturing editor.
The tree-cutting is a part of town’s $1.4 billion East Facet Coastal Resiliency venture, which can elevate the park so it, and the neighborhood, is extra proof against flooding. The town plans to chop down 1,000 bushes for the venture, which the state’s high courtroom briefly barred in December.
Yadira Guevara-Prip, 26, a “Star Trek: Discovery” actress, joined the protest.
“The bushes listed here are right here to guard us,” the actress mentioned. “There’s a a lot larger price downtown of bronchial asthma. Taking away these bushes is basically making it worse.”
Staff did partially minimize down two 70-plus-year-old London airplane bushes within the park.
“This land was stolen from indigenous peoples to start with and I’m right here now and I’m accountable to guard the land,” mentioned Decrease East Facet resident Sarah Wellington. “The East Facet Coastal Resiliency Plan is harmful. It's designed to fail.”
It's unknown when contractors will try to chop down the bushes once more, however the protesters — who name themselves “land protectors” — promised to return to the park day by day.
The Parks Division didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
Post a Comment