New Yorkers gathered and marched en masse through the city on Tuesday evening to celebrate the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
Applause and car banging erupted around the Big Apple (from Harlem to Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn) when the verdict of guilt fell.
“He was at our house, we watched the news and we all shouted,‘ Yeah! “Beatrice Samuel, 29, of Flatbush, told The Post.
He was one of hundreds who headed to the Barclays Center after the decision, including director Spike Lee, who was seen making tools on his bike and greeting passersby.
Hours later, there were several marches moving around the city, with some protesters crossing the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn and others walking from Times Square to Washington Square Park.
At Barclays, some celebrated dancing in “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy, images were shown on Twitter.
“I’m happy! I’m going to shoot this trial,” said Sharissee Maxwell, 28, of Fort Greene.
Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley spoke to the Barclays crowd and told them, “This verdict is a moment of justice for the nation; what we do next is up to us.”
The group, which grew to about a thousand, then marched through downtown Brooklyn toward the Manhattan Bridge and over it, singing “One Nation, Abolition” and “No Justice Can Be Done. Only Revolution.”
Speaking to protesters on the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, Attorney General Jumaane Williams said, “We have a little bit of responsibility … but I don’t think it will heal a wound.”
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters gathered in the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. state office building. in Harlem – and applause erupted in “Black Lives Matter” when the verdict was read, according to video on social media.
Hundreds of people were also in Union Square when the decision fell through, including many who had left early in the day to do a grass-free event.
The co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Hawk Newsome he addressed a crowd of protesters, addressing them in a chant of “Power to the people!”, fist raised in the air.
“If it weren’t for us, if it weren’t for America standing up and saying‘ Black life matters ’, that wouldn’t have happened!” He said in a megaphone.
A group of about 100 people gathered there and appeared to march toward Grand Central, singing “We love black women” and “We respect black men, we protect black men.” images were displayed.
Several dozen protesters also gathered in Times Square, before marching downtown, stopping traffic on 34th Street and Seventh Avenue and ending in Washington Square Park.
They carried posters that said “Justice for George Floyd,” “Accountability is not justice,” and “Jail All Killer Cops!”
One of the protesters, 23-year-old Isaiah Fenichel, in Mt. Vernon resident and organizer with Strategy for Black Lives, said he felt “bittersweet” by the verdict.
“I’m very happy to see Derek Chauvin convicted,” Fenichel said. “I’m very happy that the system has worked in that direction.”
However, he added: “I am also aware of the fact that it has not worked for so many other people.”
Mary Rothfusz, 42, an East Harlem meditation teacher, shouted and cried in Times Square when the verdict came out, saying she felt “disbelief that we had all three charges.”
“Unfortunately statistically, we don’t win against law enforcement,” he said. “I definitely didn’t think they were going with the highest punishment”
Additional reports from Ben Brachfeld