During the Republican National Convention in 2004, protesters formed a symbolic unemployment line from Wall Street to Madison Square Garden, holding pink slips to raise awareness about America's unemployment. The unemployment rate that year was 5.5%, last year it hovered around to 9%—and that doesn't factor in all the people who have given up searching for work. So why was today's attempt to revive that 2004 demonstration so much smaller? Well, the frigid weather surely didn't help, not to mention the early 8:14 a.m. start time. (Live! With Kelly starts at 9, for one thing.) more ›

If you're outraged by the "not guilty" verdict handed down today in the trial of two NYPD officers accused of raping a drunk East Village woman in her home, there will be a demonstration Friday outside the Manhattan Criminal Court building at 100 Centre Street. It's set to take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the organizers have posted this message on their Facebook page: more ›

There's something for everyone in this not-at-Ground Zero mosque controversy! This week a handful of activists have been gathering outside of the Lower Manhattan location where an Islamic group wants to build a community center and mosque. They smiled and held signs reading "Support Freedom of Religion" and "America Supports All Faiths" and, um, "Google: U.S. Jewish Billionaires Read It Christians." (Maybe the guy holding that last sign was with a different group?) Anyway, these Constitution-loving patriots have had their say, and Sunday those on the opposite side of the issue will have theirs. Something tells us their signs will be more fun. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Police are currently deploying a tall ladder to forcibly remove a demonstrator named Jessica Sunflower (if that is in fact her real name!) from a tree in City Hall park. Sunflower and other activists converged there this morning to protest a change in city rules that would cost community gardens legislative protection against housing developers. These rules will replace a 2002 agreement that allowed some gardens throughout the city to thrive over the last decade. more ›

PETA got back to their "Meat Is Murder" basics earlier this week, wrapping up their members in cellophane, drenching them in fake blood, and letting them bake in the summer sun in Times Square. The organization blogged about the event, saying their mission was to get across that "all meat comes from somebody. And when you show human bodies in those neatly plastic-wrapped supermarket packages, the point hits home and it begins to look like a grisly scene from Dexter." (Speaking of Dexter, this new season is going to be intense.) more ›

Our colleagues at Torontoist provided balls to the wall coverage of the protests surrounding the G20 summit in Toronto over the weekend. Police cars were set on fire, tear gas canisters were shot at demonstrators, and riot police charged into a crowd of protesters singing "Oh, Canada" (though who could blame them?). All in all, more than 600 people were arrested, a number that included protesters, reporters, civil rights monitors, and innocent bystanders. Not exactly NYC RNC arrest numbers, but still impressive for our ostensibly polite brethren in the north. One veterinarian and his wife even awoke at 4 a.m. Saturday to find cops in their bedroom pointing guns at them. more ›

Protest organizers are expecting a sizable turnout at tonight's demonstration at the BP station on Houston Street, and so a major NYPD presence is inevitable as well. (And after the protest, at 7 p.m., there's Critical Mass, woot!) This morning Code Pink sent out a handy info sheet for those planning on attending. They also clarified that they don't intend to literally "occupy" BP, just converge at the gas station covered in "oil" to send a message. more ›

Hello, sailor, it's Fleet Week 2010! Ships have been making their way into the New York Harbor this morning and will be docked in Manhattan and Staten Island for the next few days. Events include flyovers (like the ones this morning over the Hudson River and at tonight's Mets game), demonstrations (a Coast Guard search & rescue demo at the Intrepid; Marine helicopter raids in parks), and public visitation of ships, like the USS Iwo Jima and the HMCS Athabaskan. more ›

A Fine Blog spotted a demonstration today outside the Dunkin' Donuts on East 14th Street, where protesters were handing out free vegan donuts and literature about the chain's use of factory farm eggs: "When asked if DD would change to a cage free supplier who used humane practices, one protester said 'that would be an improvement, but that would never happen for such a large chain.'" For more on what these people are so upset about, check out Dunkin' Cruelty, which has targeted Michael Foods, the egg supplier for several national restaurant chains, including Dunkin' Donuts. One investigator used a hidden camera to document abuses including "hens immobilized in the wires of their cages, unable to access food or water; and decomposing and 'mummified' corpses left in cages with live birds." Mmmm, mummies. Disturbing video below! more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] A protest at Hunter College against education budget cuts turned, well, normal yesterday, with police arresting three individuals who were not enrolled at the school. Before the demonstration moved out to the streets, unidentified activists broke the glass doors to the Financial Aid office, and, as one dissident blog puts it, "the much hated security turnstiles at the entrance to the building." Somebody also scrawled graffiti on the walls, and a source tells the Hunter Word that the cost of repairing all the damage could clock in at $25,000. Way to stick it to the man the cash-strapped, taxpayer-funded institution that's facing budget cuts! And you'll never guess who's rumored to be behind the vandalism! more ›

All State Senator Pedro Espada wanted to do today was announce his proposal to finance a rent freeze on some rent-regulated apartments by helping landlords get out of rent regulation. But as you can see, some protesters had to come along and steal his thunder! Activists from the Tenants & Neighbors group and other critics say Espada's proposal is actually more of a sweetheart deal for property owners than for tenants. One protester managed to get behind Espada at City Hall, holding this sign as TV cameras were rolling, and WNYC describes what happened next: more ›

Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project have tried to halt the mega-project with murals, lawsuits, and protests. On Wednesday, they'll try a new technique: arresting Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner. Following the closure of a Prospect Heights homeless shelter last week to make room for the $4.9 billion arena and high-rise development, a group of anti-Atlantic Yards activists announced that they will make a citizen's arrest of Ratner, according to Curbed. more ›

The demonstrators who fought for the right to rally in front of Mayor Bloomberg's townhouse claim the NYPD violated legal guidelines by taking photographs of them during the demonstration. Parents, students, and teachers who gathered in front of the Mayor's Upper East Side home to protest school closures allege that the NYPD's use of photography violated the Handschu agreement — a longstanding set of legal standards drafted to protect protesters from police intimidation. more ›

A judge ruled that a group of demonstrators have the right to protest directly in front of Mayor Bloomberg's Upper East Side townhouse. The city initially rejected the protesters' application to rally against school closures and charter schools in front of the Mayor's East 79th Street home, but the demonstrators won the fight in court. more ›

Demonstrators are suing the city after the NYPD rejected their application to protest charter schools and school closings directly in front of Mayor Bloomberg's Upper East Side townhouse. The plaintiffs claim the NYPD "unconstitutionally and without any legal basis" denied their application to march single file on both sides of 79th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenue on Jan. 21. "Our voices haven't been heard, so we thought that the best way for the mayor to hear us would be for us to take our voices to his block," said protester Julie Cavanagh. more ›

Dozens of high school students demonstrated in Harlem this weekend to protest the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's controversial plan to get rid of free student Metrocards, according to NY1. As a part of its proposed "Doomsday" service cuts, the MTA is planning on eliminating the subsidized transit passes for youngsters, which allow some 500,000 students to get to school for free. more ›

Students across the city left school early yesterday in a walk-out to protest the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plan to stop giving students free Metrocards. The youngsters left school at 2 pm and gathered in front of the MTA's headquarters to demand that the agency find a way to fill its $400 million budget shortfall that won't force students to pay to commute to city schools. more ›

After a demonstration last weekend drew more police officers than protesters, cycling activists will rally again to show their support for the Bedford Avenue bike lane — but this time they'll do it in less clothing. more ›

Hundreds of demonstrators protested Saturday against the plan to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other suspected 9/11 plotters in a Manhattan civilian court. The protesters rallied in Foley Square in front of the federal court complex, arguing that the accused terrorists should not be transferred to New York from Guantanamo Bay, and that their fates should be decided in military tribunals. more ›

At midnight on December 2nd, 1984, twenty-seven tons of lethal gases leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, immediately killing 8,000 people and poisoning thousands of others. According to Bhopal.net, "There was no warning, none of the plant's safety systems were working. In the city people were sleeping. They woke in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases burning their eyes, noses and mouths. They began retching and coughing up froth streaked with blood. Whole neighborhoods fled in panic, some were trampled, others convulsed and fell dead. People lost control of their bowels and bladders as they ran. Within hours thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets." And the water's still poisoned! more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The Occupy Everything student dissidents have sent out another video from one of their strident street demonstrations, which is always a fun way to start the day. This one is described by the group as "video of last night's incident when the police attacked students at the anti-war march in times square." Man, here we go again, another outrageous example of the police state in action, with pigs cracking skulls to suppress dissent and... Oh, actually, it shows officers using reasonable force to arrest two direct action demonstrators blocking traffic. But then wait until you see how the protesters get attacked once they surround the station house, reciting their favorite chant, "From New York to Greece, Fuck the Police!" more ›

Tomorrow afternoon (at 2 p.m.) Times Square will serve as the stage for a Health Care rally, the NY Times reports. Over 75 "Democratic and health-related groups that support President Obama’s goals for overhauling the health care system" will converge on the Crossroads of the World to get their voices heard. The paper points out that amongst those groups will be the Upper West Side Baby Boomers and "Raising Women’s Voices, a group that mobilizes women as advocates for better health care. They and others want to ensure that any final legislation guarantees that pregnant women will have health insurance." Currently 13% of pregnant women are uninsured, with some insurers classifying pregnancy as a pre-existing condition and declining coverage. CityRoom reports that "midmorning, groups of demonstrators will congregate at sites across the city, including Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens, which has closed. They will then walk to West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, where the demonstration will begin." President Obama's website notes that the rally is in tribute of the late Ted Kennedy. more ›

Disgruntled delivery workers chanted "No Justice, No Noodles!" at a raucous demonstration outside Union Square's Republic restaurant yesterday; the crowd was gathered to protest against co-owner Jonathan Morr and his alleged retaliation against eight workers who filed a federal labor-violation lawsuit last April. Seven of those eight workers remain, and they say that since the lawsuit they've had their hours cut dramatically and have been subjected to constant harassment from management, including being cursed at and being served rotten food. Representatives from the 318 Restaurant Workers Union and the Justice Will Be Served! campaign, who organized the lawsuit, were there to support the workers. more ›

Harvest in the Square, Union Square's yearly food and wine fundraiser to benefit the Union Square Partnership's "ongoing beautification efforts" to the park, is self-described as "Great Food. Great Fun. Great Fundraiser. Everyone Leaves Feeling Great." That might not be the case tonight, though, when a mob of rabble rousers converge to jeer at VIPs as they arrive at the "pricey party tent." The protesters' beef, as you'll recall, is with the partnership's controversial attempt to turn the park's 78-year-old Pavilion into a year-round restaurant. Last we checked, a judge agreed with the restaurant opponents. But that doesn't mean they still can't get together and taunt the swells. To join them, assemble at the George Washington statue at 6 p.m. and "bring your own pots & pans and something to bang with!" Organizers promise to provide chef's hats. Details. more ›

The city spent five years and an estimated $1 million, give or take, fighting off a lawsuit brought by a group of 52 activists who were arrested en masse during an Iraq war protest in April 2003 outside the offices of the Carlyle Group, an investment firm with ties to the Bush family and major holdings in the military-defense sector. And that “bonfire of legal expenses,” as the Times puts it, is just the cherry on top of the $2,007,000 settlement that will now be paid by the city to end the suit. more ›

A lively, discontented rabble marched through the East Village Friday night, protesting what they see as the neighborhood’s ongoing desiccation, caused by “real estate developers, landlords, yuppie wine bars and Republicans.” Organized by longtime gadfly John Penley, the group swelled to approximately 100 protesters, who jeered, sang, read poetry and generally condemned others for enjoying fine wine and luxury apartments. more ›

When it comes to turbo-gentrification, longtime East Village activist John Penley has drawn a line in the sand at the Bowery Wine Co.; the newish wine bar co-owned by actor Bruce Willis. Penley, who joined Jerry "the Peddler" Wade in pushing the Parks Department to permit this August’s concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Tompkins Square Park riots, not only objects to the “yuppie” wine bar’s sterile aesthetics but also Willis’s GOP support. A couple months back Penley announced plans to “roast a whole hog” named Bruce. more ›

Just a day after Al Sharpton joined with Critical Mass in Union Square to protest police harassment of cycling protesters, he was leading a march in Harlem decrying youth violence. The march was instigated by the Memorial Day shooting of 7 young people following a holiday basketball tournament. Stemming from an ongoing dispute between two groups of kids, gunshots rang out along Lenox Ave. over a stretch of 10 blocks. more ›