Starting Point & Times posted for April 29th Protest in NYC

[LynneSin]

A bunch of us DUers are staying at a hotel just a few blocks from Penn Station. Perhaps we can meetup up there for breakfast and then head down to the protest around 10am (which is about a 10block walk). More details to be shared with the group.

http://www.april29.org/article.php?id=3211

April 29 Logistics

We are happy to announce that an agreement has been reached with the NYC Police Department for our plans on Saturday, April 29th.

The March for Peace, Justice and Democracy will kick off in Manhattan, just north of Union Square and proceed south along Broadway to Foley Square, where we will hold a Peace and Justice Festival. Please see schedule below:

10:30 am - 12 noon: Assembly along Broadway, north of 18th Street. Contingents will form in the area from 18th Street to 22nd Street, between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue South. (Details about where particular contingents will be gathering will be posted here soon.)

12 noon: March begins and proceeds south on Broadway. We will turn left (east) on Worth Street and continue into Foley Square.

1 pm - 6 pm: The Peace and Justice Festival will be held at Foley Square from 1 pm to 6 pm. A map of the festival area will be available here soon.

We will be posting further details here over the next couple weeks, but we also encourage you to sign up to receive April 29th email updates. We will not overload you with email, but as we get closer to the date the traffic on this list will increase.

[mdmc]

1. where do you sign up ?

:kick:

[LynneSin]

2. There is no signing up - just show up

Details of where DUers will be gathering will be posted closer to the event

[Catchawave]

5. mdmc - For the email list?

You can find the link here:

http://www.april29.org/

[mdmc]

7. thanks for the link

peace and low stress. I'll be there.

[SharonRB]

3. I've signed up for their e-mail and haven't received anything

This sounds a lot better than the West Side Highway!

Meeting at the hotel sounds fine to me (of course it does, as it's the same hotel)!

[WolverineDG]

4. Maybe we should meet up earlier than 10

IIRC, DC was an absolute nightmare by 9:30 & I have a sneaking suspicion there might be more showing up this time than in September.

dg

[SharonRB]

6. I think you're right, DG

We should get up early and grab breakfast and get over to the meeting place. We need someone to pick a spot for all DUers to meet up. I'm not familiar enough with the area.

[WolverineDG]

8. I asked bettyellen today

if she or someone could scout a meet-up spot for DUers. Is anyone bringing the DU banner? That would make it easy to spot us. :)

dg

[bettyellen]

10. The City Bakery is an awesome little place- 1 blk west and 1 north

of the park where the protest gathering starts.
i think it's perfect- because you can get anything from a full breakfast sit down to a bagel to go. So, people can go earlier or last minute if they want. good to pick up a snack for the march, too. i love their croissant pretzels and brownies.

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/city_bakery/

there's a link to the map that shows the park where the march starts just below and to the right of City.
It's on the corner of 5th.

[SharonRB]

12. That sounds good to me.

[bettyellen]

17. here's a link to City Bakery...

i think there's a menu there somewhere, probably, LOL.
heck, you're in NY, might as well get out there and enjoy the good stuff. life's too short.
and the meetup drinks won't be too expensive, i promise. ;)

http://thecitybakery.com/

[WolverineDG]

15. Sounds good to me too

and I again raise the issue of meeting up as early as possible so that we can get organized (ok, as organized as this herd of cats will ever get!) for the march. I remember people crawling out of every possible crevice in DC & NYC might be as, or more, crowded for the march that morning. :)

dg

[Karenca]

33. The City Bakery is THE BEST of THE BEST!

I THINK THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD BETTER THAN THEIR PRETZEL CROISSANT.

[WolverineDG]

9. Also

I think proud2blib isn't coming in until 8am Saturday & wants to know where the DUers will be meeting up. The sooner we get this posted, the easier it will be for the out-of-towners to get their plans lined up. :)

dg

[Catchawave]

11. I looked at the NYC map....

Is the New York Public Library (between E40th and 42nd streets on 5th Ave) too far from your hotel ? I'm coming in from W48th. Just thinking aloud and south from my point :)

I pm'd Lynn, and told her I'd agree to any DU staging area. Just thinking the public library/Bryant Park is easy to get to for most of us out-of-towners, and a very quiet area that time of day on the weekends.

I'll be too excited to eat breakfast that day, so may bag out on that, however, I think there will plenty of bagel and fresh fruit carts on the corners that day :bounce: We won't starve :)

[SharonRB]

13. It's going in the wrong direction from our hotel

We're on (or near) 32nd and will be going downtown from there, not uptown.

[Catchawave]

20. Gotcha !

I knew you guys were two blocks from Penn Station, wasn't sure what direction!

I originally planned to Amtrak/stay at the Hotel Penn, but decided to fly/stay uptown at the last minute.

This will be so fun :bounce:

[WolverineDG]

21. Wise choice

since they shut down Amtrak in September in a vain effort to keep the DC protest numbers low. Too bad for them most of us came in the night before. :evilgrin:

dg

[SharonRB]

27. You're not staying with your daughter, Catch?

I look forward to actually meeting you this time.

[Catchawave]

31. Definitely......

:hug: We did meet in DC! But I didn't realize that til long after I got home and saw the DU/KOEB photos.

As far as Daughter, she's on tour with her band right now, and you know these rock star wannabee's, made my own reservations for the DU meetup. I'm staying uptown, because my room share best travelling buddy girlfriend's splitting costs so she can do Broadway/Museums that weekend. Me Lucky!

[WolverineDG]

14. The Empire State Building is closer

IIRC from February, the hotel is on/around 32nd or 31st. We could meet in front of the ESB on 5th Ave (there's actually a Starbucks nearby we could also hook up at), but that's also still a haul away from the start up point. :)

Ok, so we won't starve. The question remains, will there be any "comfort stations" along the way? We had to pretend to be shopping for books in DC to use the bathroom there.

dg

[Catchawave]

18. ESB is good for me too !

Just thought I'd get the ball rolling :) And we only need to walk south from there too :hi:

[bettyellen]

16. that's a good 25 blocks uptown.... and

anfd those in the 30's would end up needing to cab it or subway downtown.
you should know since it's not far from your hotel that those "craft" food kiosks in the park at the 6th av side (not the cafe/ rest- closer to the library) are great (there's a sandwich one, soups, salads, baked stuff and ice creams- all good!)-, and bryant park is a really nice place to be regardless. very nice gardens there. i love it.

[Catchawave]

22. I think the carts will be all over lower mid and downtown that day !

Nobody will go hungry! As for comfort stations?

I will find you guys no matter where you choose to meet up. I'll probably miss the breakfast meeting, but meeting in front of that venue of choice is good for me too. I'm so easy :)

Probably need to post the DU pre-march gathering site ASAP, since many DUers are just coming in for the day? It may help them with their plans?

Buses are coming in from all over the country according to the Travel Center link I posted in another thread. Redeye turnarounds with no sleep, ahhhhh, to be that young again !

[LynneSin]

19. Ok, here's what I'm thinking please add your suggestions

I'd rather have breakfast at my hotel because I'm going to assume that places closer to the protest will be overwhelmed. Cafe Muse is not the official meeting place for the protest - just where we're having early breakfast (not too early) and anyone can join us before we head on down the the protest. Muse is in the hotel where we're staying and a block from Penn Station for those who might be coming in early from out of town. Muse isn't the official breakfasts - others might work together and meet elsewhere which is fine with me.

From the NYC protest I"ve been to, they corral you in like cattle and it's somewhat difficult to get in & out of those barriers - many times the cross streets are blocked off. I would rather pick the official meeting point as somewhere within the corralled area. Say we all meet on the 22nd street, pick an intersection and try to get detailed enough to say we're on the upper right corner of the 22nd & broadway (I'll try to create a map of some form for visualization) and then we just meetup within the corralled area of the protest.

[LynneSin]

23. How does this look for meeting within the staging area

That light blue shaded area is the staging area of the protest according to the UPJ website. The Big Green "X" is a nearby subway station on the N/R line. The Blue "X" is where we'll start gathering within the staging area. People will be coming in at all sorts of time so we'll try to get there at 10:30. We'll be on Broadway closest to 22nd street and on the side of the street closest to Park avenue. People will be trying to find us throughout the 90minute staging area and this is about as good as it gets for "Here's where we'll meet". Breakfast will be wherever people want to meet and everyone is welcomed to Cafe Muse for our breakfast.

But someone, perhaps you in the last PM, mentioned something about cat-herding and that's exactly what we get before the protest. Let people find their own breakfast or if they want join us and here's the spot that we'll try and get to from within the staging area.

The good thing about an NYC protest is that we can be more specific where we will meet. DC gives us part of the Mall and it's like "Meet us at the knoll under the cherry tree near that big rock" type of meetup points, hence why I had a breakfast beforehand. At least with the NYC protest we have 5-6 blocks on broadway to find a specific point to gather and say "Meet us here if you want to march with us"

[Catchawave]

26. Works for me !

Thanks Lynne :hug:

[SharonRB]

29. Looks like as good a spot as any to me.

I guess we can decide later whether we'll have breakfast at the hotel or at City Bakery, which sounds awfully good.

How was breakfast at the hotel? If it's just continental, I may want something a bit more substantial, knowing we won't eat for quite a while.

[LynneSin]

30. We get a free breakfast at the hotel but we didn't do it last time

Cafe Muse is a Korean Bakery/Coffee shoppe that is attached to the hotel but not the place for the hotel free breakfast. Essentially it's a starbucks that bills itself as a Korean Bakery. If you'd rather use the free breakfast coupons we get from the hotel we could meet upstairs and let others know that we're there.

I'm just thinking that once we get down to the staging area, places like that will be packed with other protesters trying to find grub before movoing

[SharonRB]

32. Korean bakery/coffee shop doesn't do it for me for breakfast

Knowing I won't be eating for a while.

[LynneSin]

34. Then we should grab the free breakfast from the restaurant

but the Coffee Shop in the store had a good selection of stuff.

[Catchawave]

24. Sounds like my experience for New Years Eve 2000.....

Cattle bins :rofl: This is my first NYC protest/peace rally :D

Honey, I'm just happy to be, post the street corner and I'll be there. :hi:

[LynneSin]

25. Well, you are welcomed to meet us for breakfast if you get up that earlier

and yes, that's exactly what a NYC protest is - Cattle bins

[Catchawave]

28. Thanks, I'm aiming for the breakfast area!

And your choice sounds wonderful ! Oh, I'll be up in time, just concerned about my coffee consumption v. marching/rallying for the next 8 hours :hi:

[Catchawave]

35. I got my 3x DU "check us out before the feds shut us down" shirt

Dang, it reaches my knees, but still willing to ask DUers if they want their usernames printed on it for the march/rally on the 29th. Would love to carry on DUer The Witch's spirit theme :hug:

How and when should I approach the forums.? I know this was successful for Camp Casey last August and the DC March last Sept. OY, I'm not willing to march several miles with a sign over my head, hard work...LOL.

Feedback welcomed :hi:

[WolverineDG]

36. I'd start now.

The march is only 2 weeks away. :)

dg

[egadsbrain]

37. 15 days and counting!

I've been too busy to really concentrate on the 29th, but reading this thread has got me excited again! The corner of Madison Square Park is an excellent place to meetup. There's a big statue of William Seward there if you want to focus it down further. I'll try to scout out "comfort stations" along the route. I always look for Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles in the neighborhoods I pass through but with hundreds of thousands :) of protesters, other options may be required!

The William Seward Statue:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12752