Yahoo News NYPD dismantles NYU tent encampment, arrests 13 protesters
The NYPD arrested more than a dozen protesters as cops cleared anti-Israel tent encampments by students at New York University and the New School at the request of college officials Friday morning.
Police officers detained 13 protesters as they ordered demonstrators to disperse from the encampment at the John A. Paulson Center on Bleeker Street, law enforcement sources said.
Workers were spotted power-washing the area hours after the students and protest debris had been removed.
Around noon, the NYPD was spotted unloading around 80 barricades near the scene of the encampment, though it was not clear what the barriers were for.
“I’m very excited to see the students gone,” local resident and NYU alum Paulina Grezon told The Post.
“I am a proud Zionist. Every time I leave the house, I’m feeling uncomfortable. I didn’t feel like they were necessarily going to attack me, but there is antisemitism,” she said.
“Two nights ago we were walking around and there was a guy saying he wanted to beat up my mother. There was a guy asking me and my husband where our parents were born. To say that’s not anti-Semitic and to say that’s peaceful protesting is inaccurate.”
One current NYU student, however, was frustrated by the decision to clear the encampment.
“There was nothing going on here that would call for them to do this,” the student, who declined to give their name, said.
“That’s ridiculous. These are your students. There is a rally planned for four pm tonight, and I think everyone is just as pissed about this as we are,” they added.
The tent encampment at NYU had been up since April 26, the school claimed.
Police officers in riot gear helmets were seen standing guard outside every NYU entrance while others worked to sift through the tents and other debris from the demonstration, video from reporter Mary-Lyn Buckley showed.
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“The encampment at NYU is being taken down, protesters have been removed, and campus is closed,” Buckley wrote.
Police officers also started dismantling the encampments at The New School and Parsons Friday morning, according to video from independent journalist Katie Smith.
At least 43 people were arrested at the New School campus, law enforcement sources said.
“It’s pretty frustrating. I came to class, they started arresting people around 7, I heard, there have been over 40 arrests,” said Vayle Anglan, a 20-year-old drama student at the New School.
“All the doors were locked. They weren’t letting anybody in, there is police in front of all school buildings. Shows are canceled, all classes are canceled,” they explained.
“This encampment has been going on for weeks and this entire time there was no violence, they’ve just been in their tents hanging out and showing their solidarity for what’s happening in Palestine.”
NYU’s call to the NYPD came shortly after news broke that an officer “accidentally” fired their gun during the brutal Tuesday night raid on Hamilton Hall at Columbia University.
NYPD was tasked with clearing out the academic building after anti-Israel protesters illegally occupied it and defied the administration’s orders to evacuate.
Around 300 people – a mix of students and non-students – were arrested from the protests at Columbia and City College Tuesday night, according to the NYPD.
