NEW YORK — It isn’t a traditional symbol of national government, or even where President Donald Trump was sworn in as 45th president of the United States on Friday. But New York is Trump’s home, and for protesters here, Trump-named buildings stood as symbols of the real estate mogul-turned-president.

The protests began Thursday night outside Trump International Hotel and Tower in Columbus Circle, with celebrities such as Alec Baldwin and Mark Ruffalo gathering to protest Trump’s inauguration.

On Friday morning, again beneath the giant globe in front of the Trump hotel, about 75 protesters formed a circle to share thoughts on what a Trump presidency means to them.

Basma Eid led the protest, welcoming anyone from the crowd to speak their minds, in any language and in any format. Some read poetry, while others simply shared thoughts off the top of their heads.

At the same time, about 50 other protesters gathered on Fifth Avenue across the street from Trump Tower. Metal barricades blocked the protesters from getting any closer, and they stuck close to the Prada and Abercrombie & Fitch stores behind them. If anyone stepped too far onto the sidewalk, New York Police Department officers quickly told them to keep walking so they didn’t block pedestrian traffic.

Kathryn Krawczyk | Senior Staff Writer

While anti-Trump protesters stuck to this order, a man in a “Make America Great Again” hat kept walking up and down the street. He shouted his thoughts as he filmed himself on Facebook Live. Soon, he greeted another supporter in a Trump shirt, a supporter who showed his feelings in another way.

When this supporter saw a man, Bill White, holding an American flag with #F**kTrump written on it in black marker, he reached to grab it away. The Trump supporter yelled that he was a soldier and that no one could treat the flag in that way. NYPD officers quickly stepped in, pulling the Trump supporter away and sending him down the street.

White still had his flag and still wouldn’t leave the sidewalk.

“Because nightmare was just sworn in as our president,” White explained, referring to Trump. “Because he said anyone who burns the American flag or defaces it or whatever should be imprisoned or thrown out of the country.”

The NYPD was prepared to handle scuffles like that one. For more than a week before Inauguration Day, metal barricades lined Fifth Avenue outside of Trump Tower. There were almost always a few protesters standing by the barricades in the days leading up to Friday, and it was difficult for cars to make it down the road.

Later Friday night, more metal barricades stood to protect another Trump landmark: the Trump Building on Wall Street. It was the destination for thousands of protesters who first gathered in Foley Square earlier in the evening.

After organized chants at the square, protesters picked up their signs and marched through the drizzling rain. There were no violence and no noticeable backlash from Trump supporters. Protesters chanted during the walk as onlookers lined the sidewalks and looked down from windows above the streets.

When they arrived on Wall Street, protesters squeezed their way into a box formed by metal barricades, which didn’t even extend to the end of the Trump Building.

Codie Yan | Staff Photographer

With so many protesters, many didn’t even make it in front of their destination. Instead, they formed circles in front of the New York Stock Exchange and filled the steps of Federal Hall. NYPD officers stood outside the barricades, in front of the Trump Building.

One group carried a banner reading “Political Revolution” to the top steps of Federal Hall, the United States’ first capitol building. Others stuck to the streets, continuing to chant.

Despite bigger protests happening in Washington, D.C., some outsiders still chose to travel to New York to protest.

Alessandra Venier, who is from Italy, and Alessandra Puopolo, from Canada, swung by Trump Tower on Friday morning to see what was happening. They ended up holding signs and joining the protest. To Venier and Puopolo, a Trump presidency isn’t just something Americans have to worry about — it’s a global concern.

“He wants to blow up NATO, NAFTA, the Paris Climate Agreement,” Venier said.

“The planet,” Puopolo interjected.

Likewise, Syracuse University senior acting major Jerrod Everett headed out Friday with one goal in mind: making his voice heard.

“I would feel horrible that I’ve been so active on Facebook, on social media, and that I’ve never been able to physically get myself out there for a cause,” Everett said. “So I really want to get down and dirty. I want to get to arrested … because someone takes my rights.

“And I don’t mind giving my life up for that.”

Published on January 21, 2017 at 12:29 am

Contact Kathryn: kjkrawcz@syr.edu | @kathrynkrawczyk