Shouting “This is what democracy looks like!”, about 100 protesters stormed a hotel ballroom Tuesday where Mayor Michael Bloomberg was addressing an economic forum and accused him of ignoring the concerns of working-class New Yorkers.
A few minutes into the mayor’s speech at a Manhattan hotel, the demonstrators charged in, chanting and waving signs that said, “Mayor Bloomberg, talk to us about the future of NYC!”
Protesters said the demonstration was organized by a coalition that advocates for communities. They said Bloomberg has ignored the concerns of working-class New Yorkers, favoring the rights of rich developers instead.
The group also handed out fliers that condemned the billionaire mayor for pushing the City Council to change term limits law last fall, refusing calls from those who said the issue should be decided by voters in a referendum, as it had twice before in the 1990s. After the law was changed, Bloomberg said he would run for a third term, arguing that his business background made him uniquely qualified to lead the city out of the recession.
Demonstrator Wanda Imasuen said working-class New Yorkers had no say in the term limits decision, and have no say in the larger issues facing the city, especially development.
“We don’t have a voice … and for him to be doing his four-year bid for mayor again – we weren’t at the table,” she said.
Bloomberg stopped his speech until his security detail and other police escorted the demonstrators out of the hotel. It was not immediately clear if there were any arrests.
The mayor said later that the way to influence the dialogue “is hardly to walk in and disrupt somebody’s speech.”
“There’s a lot of ways to get their voices known,” he said.
He also argued that wealthy people, developers and profitable businesses are crucial to keeping New York City afloat.
Without them, he said, “you’re not going to have a city.”