To commemorate the organization's 25th anniversary, members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) chained themselves together across Broadway at Wall Street this morning. Activists demanded a Financial Speculation Tax (FST) on Wall Street affecting all transactions and speculative trades in order to raise the money to end the global AIDS epidemic and provide universal healthcare in the Unites States. Police arrived with chain cutters and nine protesters were promptly arrested for obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct—to the sounds of jeering New York Stock Exchange workers. Later, approximately 1,500 demonstrators from organizations like Occupy Wall Street, Housing Works, Vocal NY, and National Nurses United marched from City Hall to the Department of Social Services at 180 Water Street before finally gathering again in front of Trinity Church on Broadway, chanting "Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!" more ›

Some people aspire to be like Jeremy Lin, while others aspire to be Henry Earl—and it seems Herman Wayne decidedly falls into the latter category. The 55-year-old Washington Square Park mainstay was arrested last weekend for the 81st time. He makes 74-time arrestee Johnny Morgan look like a real Padawan. more ›

Federal authorities have arrested "top members of the computer hacking group LulzSec... Five people with the group were either under arrest or being sought, the official said. The details of the allegations weren't immediately available, but were expected to be made public in court documents being unsealed Tuesday morning," according to the AP. And what's more, the feds were tipped off by Anonymous "mastermind" Sabu. more ›

Joseph Midgley, a volunteer for Picture the Homeless, represents four of the 684,330 stops initiated by the NYPD in 2011. "I have been stopped and frisked four times and each time I have been standing in public places," he told a crowd of reporters gathered at City Hall this afternoon. "I've been questioned by the police and asked if I had anything illegal on me. To which I replied, 'no.' My pockets were still searched. Nothing illegal was found. I was never charged. Never even given a ticket on all four occasions. This form of discriminatory policing is outrageous and it must stop. Not tomorrow, not next year, but today." more ›

In 2010, when the NYPD broke its previous all-time-high record for stop-and-frisks with a sensational 601,055 street stops, many "frisk fans" said there was no way NYPers could top that in 2011! But Coach Ray Kelly's dream team has just clinched another champion season, breaking the previous record by stopping and questioning an all-time-high of 684,330 people. At press time, video from 1 Police Plaza showed a trio of triumphant beat cops sneaking up behind Kelly with a giant tub of Gatorade. Look out, Popeye! more ›

The NYPD made more than 50,680 arrests for low-level marijuana offenses in 2011, once again making low-level pot possession the number one cause of arrest in NYC. 2011 was the second-highest period for marijuana arrests in New York City history, and this despite NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly specifically ordering officers to stop arresting people who bring small quantities of marijuana into open view during a stop-and-frisk. In a September memo, Kelly told officers, "A crime will not be charged to an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of marijuana." Unfortunately, most hippies were too stoned to read all the way the bottom of the memo, where Kelly included a photo of himself winking slyly. more ›

As Yogi Berra might say, it's deja vu all over again: over 25 Occupy Wall Street protesters have been arrested today at a foreclosure auction protest in Brooklyn this afternoon. According to John Knefel, over 80 people crammed into Brooklyn Supreme Court to sing songs and blockade the foreclosure sales, and it seemingly worked: "4 cops just said the auction was cancelled. #ows now being forced to leave. could it be a ruse? #blockade." Check out a video of protesters singing in the courthouse here, and below. more ›

The NYPD announced that it conducted a four-day prostitution sting in 27 police precincts across the city, resulting in many arrests. One hundred eighty-six johns were arrested—the Post says, "Undercover cops pose as hookers and collar those johns looking for a prostitute," and the sting was called “Operation Losing Proposition." more ›

Good job, drunks, public sex enthusiasts and folks who like to poop outside of bathrooms: Organizers have cancelled the popular Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade, noting the city's "inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants." more ›

The NYPD has arrested almost 2,000 protesters since the Occupy Wall Street movement began, and some of those arrested have refused to go the usual route taken by demonstrators. Typically, someone arrested for disorderly conduct at a protest will agree to an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal), which means that the charges are dropped after six months if the individual stays out of trouble (or whatever our police state considers "trouble" these days). But some of those arrested are refusing the routine plea deal and are demanding a trial, because they insist the charges are bogus. And yesterday, prosecutors decided to back down and drop the charges against 21 of them. more ›

The NYPD says it arrested two men after finding "two live grenades and three other 'works in progress'" plus illegal weapons in a Bronx home yesterday morning. According to WCBS 2, "Anthony Cibelli, 24, and Juan Pagan, 25, were charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon for an explosive device and firearm, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Possession of Marijuana." more ›

252 protesters were arrested yesterday during the daylong Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, an NYPD spokesman tells us. Five protesters were charged with felony assault, and there were at least a dozen reported injuries sustained by police and protesters. One officer policing Zuccotti Park in the afternoon was struck in the eye by an "unknown object," while another got a "nasty, nasty" cut to his left thumb after an unidentified person threw a "star-shaped glass object" at him, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mayor Bloomberg visited the officer at Bellevue, and then held a press conference to chastise the demonstrators. more ›

On October 1st, when Occupy Wall Street was still in its infancy, more than 700 protesters were arrested after OWS marched onto the Brooklyn Bridge. Protesters claimed that police lured them onto the roadway of the bridge—leading them there as an excuse to arrest en masse—while the NYPD maintains that they warned protesters they would be arrested for blocking the street. Now, a civil rights group has come to the aid of those arrested, petitioning Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. to drop all the charges. more ›

Approximately 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to Foley Square at around 3 p.m. this afternoon to protest the Obama administration's role in a settlement that would indemnify banks who were directly involved with creating the mortgage crisis. Though the NYPD could not confirm the number of arrests, a DCPI officer noted that "they would be in the family of 20 or so," more than the four that the movement claims were arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court building. Eyewitnesses wrote that the NYPD began arresting protesters after they blocked pedestrian traffic in front of the courthouse, and one claims that video will surface of a NYPD officer punching a protester in the face. more ›

The Occupy Wall Street protests which began in NYC just over a month ago went global this weekend—and across the nation, hundreds of protesters were arrested as cops clashed with demonstrators in Chicago, Phoenix, Denver and Raleigh. And in Washington D.C., Dr. Cornel West—who had appeared in solidarity with OWS protesters two weeks ago—was arrested at the Supreme Court steps. more ›

According to the Daily News, at least 20 Occupy Wall Street protesters have been arrested this afternoon. A group of protesters marched to Citibank at 555 LaGuardia just after 11 a.m. this morning with NYPD shadowing them. They report that one protester's hands were bleeding as he was pulled into an NYPD van. [Updates Below] more ›