In light of the contentious debate around defunding the police, Andi Zeisler wrote on Twitter June 4: “I’m seeing people ask things like ‘But if there are no police who will go after RAPISTS???’ and well I have some very bad news for those folks.” She then linked to an article about a 2013 study showing U.S. cops charged with more than 400 forcible rapes over nine years.  More →

If you join a protest these days and find yourself among hundreds or thousands marching through an otherwise empty Times Square, you may get the sense that something distinctly new is happening. When else in history have demonstrations taken over the streets of almost every major city in the country? More →

Late last month, video of a confrontation between an avid birder and a dog walker in the Central Park Ramble went viral. While Twitter and the op-ed pages rightfully prioritized the degree to which white privilege, prejudice, and misplaced fear motivated the dog walker’s more than inappropriate response, the exchange also underscored long-standing tensions between birders and dog walkers in the Ramble, and sparked broader conversations about city park usage in general. That conversation has become all the more timely now that parks are playing host to massive protests against police brutality and systemic racism. More →

Three weeks ago, Anna Dejesus’ water started leaking. It was two months before her due date, so she was rushed to the nearest hospital. Her medical team immediately began trying to halt her premature labor, with hopes of keeping it on pause until it was safe to give birth. Her hospital stay was expected to stretch up to a month, and with the Covid-19 crisis restricting visitors, she was told it would be a solitary one. In search of solace, support, and skills for braving the weeks to come, she decided to call her birth doula, Melissa Murphy. More →

Greenwich Village, which is usually bustling with people in every corner, has been much quieter since New York City went on pause in late March and non-essential businesses were forced to temporarily shut down. But local stores are finally able to slowly – and carefully – open their doors again. More →

At a St. Louis hospital in early April, a baby was admitted with 15 broken ribs. Physicians believed the injuries likely resulted from repetitive stomping, by a much larger adult. The case was deemed child abuse. The infant died.  More →

Update, June 7: Mayor de Blasio announced Sunday morning that New York City’s curfew has been lifted a day early. “Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city,” he tweeted. The NYCLU tweeted, “This would not have happened without immense pressure from New Yorkers protesting + the threat of a lawsuit.”

Four civil liberties organizations have threatened to sue Mayor Bill de Blasio if he extends a controversial curfew that has resulted in the arrests of hundreds of protesters. The curfew, the city’s first in 75 years, was imposed Monday in the wake of widespread looting, but critics– including a growing and increasingly vocal chorus of elected officials– argue it has led to more of the police brutality that thousands have been peacefully marching against all week. More →

As protests of the murder of George Floyd and police brutality continue across New York City, the NYPD is very likely using a bevy of wide-reaching digital surveillance techniques to track demonstrators and record their information.  More →

“You’ll think everything is going to be great one day and then two days later you’re writing an Instagram post saying you’re closing down,” says Honey Moon, owner of 1 of A Find Vintage in Prospect Heights. “But you don’t post it. You think… Maybe I won’t close down.” More →

The creator of @justiceforgeorge wasn’t prepared for it to get this big. 

While scrolling through Twitter last Friday, Anne (who works anonymously and whom we are identifying with a pseudonym) stumbled across a thread by @chaoticcoochie. The thread included locations and times for Black Lives Matter demonstrations in New York and Connecticut protesting the police killing of 46 year-old Minnesota man George Floyd. Thinking it might be difficult for some people to find, Anne decided to share the information by creating an Instagram account, @justiceforgeorgenyc, and posting it there. “I didn’t think it was anything special,” Anne said. “I kind of just assumed that there were other accounts like this.” More →