YEAH, DON, THIS IS SOME REAL ‘ANARCHY’
N.Y.ers mock feds over ‘political stunt’
You want anarchy? We got your anarchy right here.
Irate New Yorkers gave the White House a Bronx cheer on Monday after the Trump administration sicced its chief law enforcement officer on the five boroughs, calling the Big Apple an “anarchist” city and threatening to hold back federal grants that would fund a round of services and departments, including, ironically, the nation’s largest police department.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr, fresh off comparing coronavirus restrictions to slavery, dug himself another controversial hole Monday by designating New York and two other American cities as “anarchy jurisdictions” because of protests and violent crime that the administration says is getting out of hand.
But them’s fightin’ words, from Flatbush to Flushing, and New Yorkers said they ain’t havin’ it.
“An anarchist district? What the f—k?” said angry New Yorker Theja Talla, 25. “Barr has no concept of what anarchy means. I don’t know what Barr is using as his definition of anarchy. Some may say it’s a lack of order, but that’s not true in New York City.
“Every Saturday morning at Tompkins Square Park there’s a big food drive for people in need. We are seeing that community organizers are coming together to help others and establish some order. People are not just on the streets rioting for no reason,” she said.
“A New Yorker sees right through that,” said Persis Puello, 39, a resident physician from East New York, Brooklyn.
She was weaving red-andblue streamers through the gate of the Green Gems community garden in East New York that read “Vote For Change” while her son played inside.
“The majority of New York has always been liberal. That’s not anarchy. He’s from here,” she said of President Trump. “He knows what it’s about. He’s just trying to use it for his own agenda.”
Patricia Rosten Filan, a retired librarian, sat in Brooklyn Bridge Park on a slab of stone by the calming water, where the Manhattan skyline hovered in the distance. Anarchy seemed a million miles away.
“I can’t help but feel attacked,” Rosten Filan, 70, said. “Honestly, I just think they don’t like us very much,” she said of the Trump administration. “I’ve had my rough and rowdy days, but I was never an anarchist.”
Mary Robinson, 58, said anarchy was the last thing on her mind. She was more worried about setting her trash out
properly with her recycling for sanitation pickup.
“Like, is he going to go send in the troops?” said Robinson, as she stood in front of her East New York building.
“I find humor in everything Trump says. You can’t take anything he says literally,” she added.
City and state officials were more disgusted than amused, especially Gov. Cuomo, who said Trump could no longer even call himself a real New Yorker.
“I believe the president is fundamentally a bully … you can’t bully New Yorkers,” the governor said during a conference call with reporters on Monday.
But most New Yorkers — outside to enjoy the sunshine on a crisp fall-like afternoon the day before the official start of autumn — had a tongue-incheek response to the “anarchist” label.
“I’m in NYC. No anarchy in my area except money laundering through banks by Russian Oligarchs to finance campaigns,” tweeted one sarcastic resident.
“Can’t spell anarchy without NYC,” someone else tweeted, along with a picture of a serene city park.
Enlightened New Yorkers, like public defender Scott Hechinger, took the cynical swipe in stride.
“I was able to document the ‘anarchy’ in NYC yesterday after my 5 mile bike ride with my son and wife yesterday,” Hechinger wrote on social media Monday. “Truly terrifying.” Hechinger’s taunting tweet was accompanied by a video of his bike ride that featured scenic views from DUMBO of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.
The other cities on Barr’s list were Portland, Ore., and Seattle.
“NYC’s anarchy on full display,” tweeted activist and artist Shannon Galpin, along with a picture of eight wellbehaved dogs out for a walk. “Won’t somebody put an end to this violence? Law and order is desperately needed.”
New Yorker James Kinzer took to Twitter to address the issue in practical terms.
“If NYC has anarchy, is alternate side parking still enforced?” Kinzer asked.
Edward Ingram, 54, a retired postal worker, said Trump is just trying to distract the electorate.
“To me it just means he’s just trying to divert from what he’s doing, trying to make it look like he’s not the one doing the wrong thing,” Ingram said.
Eric Russell, 22, of Flatbush, was stretching on an artificial turf field in Brooklyn Heights when he heard the Justice Department had put a financial target on the city’s back. “Many people in need live off that funding, and they are just going to take that away from them?” he said. “New York is a beautiful place. You have some people who cause mayhem, but New York is still a beautiful place.”