NYC: Fight to get cops off subway
New York, NY – On a Saturday afternoon, November 9, a couple dozen people gathered to protest the increased presence of the NYPD in the NYC metro system, outside the Jay Street. Metro Tech subway stop in Brooklyn. The protest brought attention to NY Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression’s “Cops Off The Subway” campaign. The campaign demands that the NYPD, MTA PD, and National Guard leave the NYC transit system, end the new version of Stop and Frisk under mayor Eric Adams, and calls for funding communities and social services instead of the NYPD.
While the primary concern of the protest was to promote the demands around policing, given that the action took place only four days after the 2024 presidential election, a secondary theme of the rally was to speak out against Trump's racist agenda. They chanted, “Military, cops, they're all the same, get these pigs off of our trains!”, and “Hey hey! Ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!” The protest featured speakers from the NY Alliance, Brooklyn Eviction Defense, and NYU Students for a Democratic Society.
Chairperson of NYAARPR, Shivani Ishwar, said, “For years, we’ve watched as cop Mayor Adams has funneled more and more money into the NYPD, and steadily taken away from our schools, our libraries, our communities. And all it’s led to is more violence, less support, and worsening conditions for all of us. With all the money we spend on the NYPD, we could improve the lives of millions of New Yorkers. Instead of paying cops to stand around the subway platforms and play games on their phones, we could make our transit system accessible and free for everyone.”
The organizers spent about an hour chanting and speaking, and even called out the NYPD officers who came out to police the event. At the end, the protesters dropped a spray painted banner which read “Cops off the trains! Safe subways for all” over the entrance to the Jay Street. Metrotech subway stop.
New Yorkers have been fed up with mayor Eric Adams’ pro-cop and anti-people policies, and largely feel intimidated by the increased presence of the NYPD on the subways, especially since the brutal shooting done by the police at the Sutter Avenue station on the L train. People want to feel safe, and the cops aren’t helping with that. Since it was announced that Donald Trump will be the next president of the U.S., there is a buzz in the air in NYC, and people are ready to speak up and fight back against racist the and oppressive policies of both Eric Adams and Donald Trump.