NYC pro-Palestinian protests target major transit hubs: 'Bring banners, bullhorns'

NEW YORK CITY - Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated across New York City – including major transit hubs like Grand Central, Port Authority Bus Terminal and Penn Station – as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza.

Hundreds of demonstrators were gathered Monday afternoon at Grand Central, with hundreds chanting and waving banners in the main concourse. 

They later took to the streets in Midtown, blocking traffic, and headed toward the Port Authority.

As of 4:45 p.m., protesters were seen outside of Penn Station on Seventh Avenue.

Shortly after, some demonstrators made their way inside, waving Palestinian flags and banners as commuters waited for trains.

Actor Alec Baldwin was seen on the street getting into a heated confrontation with one of the protesters.

Police were monitoring the protests, which appeared to be peaceful. It is unclear if any arrests were made.

According to an Instagram post from Within Our Lifetime, a group with more than 116,000 followers, the citywide protest times were

• 3 p.m. – The clock inside Grand Central
• 4 p.m. – Port Authority Bus Terminal
• 5 p.m. – Penn Station

The post urged demonstrators to "bring banners, bullhorns and Bluetooth speakers."

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Organizers advised demonstrators to begin protesting in the outer boroughs before marching or taking the subway to meet at the Manhattan locations.

Groups like Within Our Lifetime called for a worldwide strike last week: no school, no working, no shopping.

Protests amass outside the United Nations

Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators amassed on the streets and sidewalks last Tuesday outside the United Nations in Midtown Manhattan ahead of a vote on a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.

After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council demanding a humanitarian cease-fire, Arab and Islamic nations called for an emergency session of the 193-member General Assembly to vote on a resolution making the same demand.

Several organizers chanted "Free Palestine" and waved Palestinian flags as they assembled on First Avenue.

Police ordered protesters to vacate the street or face arrest.

Protesters stage sit-in at New York Times HQ

Last month, pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the lobby of The New York Times, accusing the media of showing a bias toward Israel in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

The demonstration saw thousands march through Midtown Manhattan. A group of demonstrators led by media workers calling themselves "Writers Bloc" entered the atrium of the Times building carrying a banner calling for a cease-fire.

They remained for over an hour, reading off the names of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, including at least 36 journalists whose deaths had been confirmed since the war began. 

They scattered editions of a mock newspaper — "The New York War Crimes" — that charged the media with "complicity in laundering genocide" and called on The Times’ editorial board to publicly back a cease-fire.

Photos showed the word "Lies" painted across the doors of the Times headquarters.

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