TRIBECA, Manhattan (WABC) — NYPD officers have arrested a number of demonstrators at an Earth Week climate protest outside the global headquarters of Citigroup in Tribeca.
A large number of NYPD officers were outside the building well before the demonstrators arrived.
And when they did, the situation quickly heated up quickly.
Activists were full of passion as they raised their voices, chanted and beat drums.
A number of them held a large sign outside that said, “Stop funding fossil fuels.”
Organizers describe themselves as part of a growing movement to increase pressure on big banks to stop funding the fossil fuel industry that they say is responsible for driving the climate crisis.
Police warned the activists that they would be removed as they flooded the entrance of the Citigroup building.
A short time later, they moved in and started arresting multiple participants.
Eyewitness News spoke with one man named Alec as he was about to be taken away by police.
“This summer is going to be the hottest summer ever recorded in human history,” he said. “We’re spending billions of dollars on a war that most Americans have never been to. We need to be spending that money on bringing housing to people who need it, on health care here. I want a future. I want your kids to have a future, and we need to fight for it or else we’re going to lose everything.”
Eyewitness News has reached out to Citigroup regarding the protest and is awaiting a response.
A similar protest at Citigroup headquarters back in September resulted in 24 arrests.
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