NYPD Chief vows stricter enforcement of curfew after thousands of protesters peacefully march

Protesters pause in the intersection of 8th Avenue and W. 14th Street during a march Wednesday, June 3, in Manhattan, New York. 

The curfew restricting New York City protestors outraged by the police killing of George Floyd is now for real, a top NYPD cop vowed Wednesday.

After several days marred by looting and conflicts with cops, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said Wednesday evening that an 8 p.m. curfew will be more strictly enforced going forward.

“You can come back early tomorrow if you want to,” Monahan said. “But when eight o clock comes, please go home.”

Police are seen here in front of 850 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, where several protesters are seen handcuffed on Wednesday night. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

He spoke at Third Ave. and E. 50th St., where dozens of protesters were arrested. The handcuffing-spree was preceded by a scuffle with a cop, who was knocked off a bicycle.

That prompted cops to aggressively push people in the pouring rain, yelling “get the f--- out!”

But overall the night was relatively calm compared with prior evenings of unchecked looting, which prompted Gov. Cuomo to call the NYPD “not effective.” The curfew, which was imposed by Mayor de Blasio and Cuomo on Monday, was not strictly enforced those nights.

A man is arrested at 50th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan on Wednesday, June 3. (Marco Poggio/for New York Daily News)

Monahan said a focus on agitators coming into the city to cause trouble produced results. There had been no looting so far, he said.

“We’re getting rid of the people who are causing mayhem in the city,” he said.

At Cadman Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn, around eight protesters were arrested after a cop suffered a minor injury, witnesses and sources said. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who was at the scene, was outraged.

Protesters are arrested after defying the curfew and clashing with police at Cadman Plaza and Johnson Street Wednesday, June 3. (Jeff Bachner/for New York Daily News)

“The only difference between and de Blasio and (President) Trump is a matter of degree. I’m waiting for the rubber bullets,” he said. Bicycles apparently abandoned by protesters littered the street.

Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters peacefully marched around the city, vowing new charges against former Minneapolis police officers for the killing of Floyd weren’t enough to keep them off the streets.

Demonstrators hold a silent vigil for 30 minutes outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor's residence, on Wednesday June 3. (Wes Parnell/New York Daily News)

A crowd of at least 2,000 protesters erupted in cheers in Washington Square Park as they learned former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin had been slapped with upgraded charges of second degree murder for the unarmed black man’s agonizing death. Three of Chauvin’s fellow ex-cops, who failed to intervene, were also charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

“I think it’s great, but more needs to happen. This isn’t enough. That’s why we’re still out here,” said Isaiah Sparks, 28.

“This is way bigger than George Floyd. This is about the next guy who’s going to get killed. These is about the guys who got killed before him.”

Thousands of protesters are seen here seated in the street on 9th Avenue in Manhattan on Wednesday, June 3. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

Many New Yorkers expressed disgust with the curfew.

“The curfew is completely illegal. Completely unconstitutional. Look, looting is crime. But you don’t need a curfew to establish that as criminal. Curfews make walking down the street illegal! They make our rights crimes,” said Edwin Ackerman, a professor of sociology at Syracuse University who lives in Brooklyn Heights.

The crowd at Barclays Center Wednesday, June 3, 2020, after a moment of silence and a prayer in Arabic. (Kristian Winfield/New York Daily News)

A peaceful vigil at Barclays Center in recognition of the May 25 execution in Minneapolis also featured protesters who vowed to stay out late.

“I think it’s sick. I think it’s a way for them to make protesting illegal. It gives them an opportunity to fight us and use unlawful force and justify it. I think it’s a disguise for corruption. I think it’s disgusting,” said Luke Hicks, 27.

Thousands of others marched from Crown Heights to the Williamsburg waterfront.

The crowd at Barclays Center Wednesday, June 3. (Kristian Winfield/New York Daily News)

There were other signs of more aggressive measures by the NYPD. Times Square was closed to traffic. Pedestrians were only allowed past police barricades if they live or worked in the area, which has been a no man’s lands since March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down the city.

The NYPD also disabled the popular Citi Bike service at 6 p.m. — two hours before the curfew.

The move was due to concern that looters were using the blue bikes as getaway rides, according to a spokesman for Lyft, which operates the two-wheeled network.

Cops arrest protesters who allegedly assaulted a cop with a thrown Citi Bike on Tuesday in Manhattan. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

The bikes have been a common sight at protests around the city since video emerged of Chauvin putting his knee on Floyd’s neck for a horrific eight minutes.

College student Myles Robinson, 18, was disgusted by Chauvin’s fellow brothers in blue.

“They just watched an innocent man die,” Robinson said, adding that he wanted to people in power “removed” from their posts.

Protesters are arrested after defying the curfew and clashing with police at Cadman Plaza and Johnson Street, Wednesday, June 3. (Jeff Bachner/for New York Daily News)

De Blasio was vague about the reasons for powering down Citi Bike.

“I have kept it very general, and I know we’re dealing with security issues and strategic issues so I have kept it general on purpose,” de Blasio said alongside NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea at a news conference.

A member of the Guardian Angles told the Daily News he saw a man on Canal St. handing out Citi Bike key fobs, encouraging troublemakers to “Get bikes before 7 and go do damage."

Councilwoman Carlina Rivera was among those slamming the bike shutdown.

“When you shut down public transportation - before a curfew even starts no less - you’re saying that essential workers don’t matter in a crisis,” she tweeted.