So there was a gigantic benefit show for the New School arestees tonight in Bushwick.
As usual the philosophical-politico Manhattanite university crowd turned out, as well as a handful of strictly Brooklyn party types. The half-anarchist half-hipster crowd couldn’t help but appear reminiscent of a certain catastrophic scenario in recent memory. Around 1:30 AM police showed up outside the 210 Cook street building and unplugged the sound system.
The 800 or so kids from the roof were pushed into a condensed Cook Street where a couple skirmishes broke out between one of the more notably tough New York police precincts and the drunks/anarchists/bystanders from the party.
I didn’t have my camera flash but the photos still look pretty rad. What was I thinking, showing up to a New School event unprepared for a violent encounter with the cops? Now that it’s summer and school’s out, it looks like the anarchists are going to alternate between having benefit shows and being arrested. See all you kids and cops at the next one.
UPDATE II:
The Village Voice linked to this story so I made a second article with more photos and an interview with one of those arrested on the street. View it here:
BRUTAL COPS, BROKEN CAMERAS AND PEE IN THE STAIRWELL, more on the New School benefit show
UPDATE:
15 were arrested last night, all but three have been released with non-criminal disorderly conduct charges (major relief)
the roof and building got cleaned up
im still trying to figure out what exactly happened, the thing about the rumor mill being out of control was exactly correct, on multiple occasions i was told the cops had left and i said “they’re gone? DEFINITELY GONE?” and people told me yes… and then on other occasions i was told the cops were coming to the roof and the bands needed to stop and everyone needed to get out immediately, so yeah communication was an issue but that’s what happens when everyone doing the door/in communication with the police get arrested immediately
these photos are great!
fucking wack cops. we should just beat their heads in with clubs next time. we have the numbers, we have the intelligence.
the intelligence to hit people in the head with clubs
[...] From Exquisite Corps – So there was a gigantic benefit show for the New School arrestees last night in Bushwick, Brooklyn. [...]
The 15 – does this include the 1 person who was arrested and brought to the 94th precinct? Because he isn’t out yet, moved to central booking this morning I’m told.
Also, another from 90th was just released.
people are STILL IN JAIL. this article – ESPECIALLY the headline – is needlessly incriminating to innocent people. COMMON SENSE.
yo, these photos are gorgeous!
Not worried about the article. The last folks should be getting released TONIGHT 5/23 at brooklyn central booking. 233 Schermerhorn. Awesome jail solidarity last night.
gross. What incited cops to arrest people? and is there a list of names?
The police did nothing too different from what they would do when busting up any other roof-top party, until people began chanting ‘fuck the police’. That is the point when they decided to show their strength and make an arrest. When people objected the true nature of the police was revealed. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that we were specifically targeted or that they would not have done the same under the same circumstances were we a-political hipsters, artists or whatever. This is what the cops are really like. This is what they do.
Above post is bullshit. Police arrested an innocent person running the door, who wasn’t any kind of anarchist but was just stamping hands, about twenty minutes before they raided the place. Once they found out what the show was for, and found out an NLG lawyer was there, they take the first person away and say the party’s fine as long as it’s contained – only to return with the riot squad.
The cops obviously knew what was happening. They only wanted to confront it with the full brigade there. To assume otherwise is just naïvete – to tell so to others is treachery.
Hey ‘anon’ I don’t know if you were there but it seems obvious that you were not there when the first arrest on the roof went down. I am not sure about what happened at the door and why someone staffing the door may have been detained.
If New School anarchists were such a thorn in the side of Brooklyn’s 90th precinct then why did they try to clear 2-300 people off the roof with just a handful of cops after the party had already peaked, the money had been raised, and all the bands had played. There was no riot squad. When the motherfuckers saw they were out numbered and that people were not going to go quietly as one person was singled out for arrest seemingly at random then they radioed in a call for back up.
This brought a few dozen cops from various precincts all over Brooklyn (at least one of the arrestees was taken all the way to Greenpoint.) It was not a riot squad nor a “full brigade.” There were no paddy wagons. No plexi cuffs, no riot helmets, no pepper spray, and seemingly no expectation that there would be resistance.
Let’s not give the cops more credit than they deserve.
Yeah, fuck the cops!!! They waited til after the show was done to peacefully break up the totally illegal party show we threw on a roof (that they knew about ahead of time)!! Let’s rile them up just to draw attention to ourselves and then whine about it!! MOAR BENEFIT SHOWS!! MOAR!!!
So, did the naked guy with his arms in the air get arrested too?
And what about the couple making out in matching ripped pantyhose?
Don’t you just love Williamsburg hipsters?
“Yeah, fuck the cops!!! They waited til after the show was done to peacefully break up the totally illegal party show we threw on a roof (that they knew about ahead of time)!! Let’s rile them up just to draw attention to ourselves and then whine about it!! MOAR BENEFIT SHOWS!! MOAR!!!”
Yes… what’s the problem?
Naked guy was clothed when cops showed and was not arrested.
It’s gotta be more than chanting “Fuck the Police”. I’ve Seig Howdy’d skinhead cops at protests before right to their face and they didn’t do anything. When they’re outnumbered they’re not going to start arresting people for chanting “fuck the police”
Is there a list of arrested individuals?
800 people?? Are you sure there were 800 people there? That seems terribly inaccurate, otherwise major newspapers would have covered it.
hey,
i live in 210 cook street and I called the cops after they left the first time. People were pissing onto our patio from the roof and throwing glass bottles onto our patio. We were never told about the party and were a little shocked people were getting charged money to enter our building. it’s a loft, not a venue. anyways, keep stirring up rumors!
–michael
sorry to hear that people got arrested, but there is still broken glass in our hallways and the stairwells smell like piss.
lol sounds like inconsiderate bad planning
What the fuck? That is serious inconsiderate planning. Pissing on other people’s balconies and in the hallways? Fucking hipsters are a disgrace to humanity.
in response to the comments made by people in the apartment… yes there was a lack of a planning that resulted in people peeing. when this started happening one of the people running the show tried to control this by opening up an apartment to use as a bathroom and having an annoucement made to stop peeing off the roof. no one accounted for the amount of people that showed up as a result of being posted on the nonsense list without anyone’s consent. that excuse aside, it was poor planning and i am very sorry for everyone in the building about that, the people who threw the party cleaned up the building the best they could.
about being charged money to enter the building, we were only asking donations for people attending the party, if you had said you lived in the building or were there for some other reason, you wouldn’t have been charged.
as for calling the cops… it may have seemed like the best idea but 15 were arrested, mostly for taking photographs, and few people got really badly beat up and sent to the hospital, at least one also for taking pictures. i hope that’s on your conscious.
It sucks that people got arrested and possibly assaulted (although I only saw the action at the side of the building, during which I believed the police to be acting completely in their rights- I have heard really bad things about their behavior in front, however).
We used to throw huge parties on that roof for years and people, including many from the near-by projects, treated the building and the guests with respect. It’s not the case anymore and I think any injuries/arrests should be on the CONSCIENCE of the so-called organizers and not on the residents who had enough of putting their property and peace of mind at risk.
If you’re taking money from people, use it to rent out an actual venue and not people’s homes unless you know you can keep it in control.
what kind of photographer carries no flash to a party like that… ;)
I was visitng friends who live in the building and we saw the whole thing in the front of the building from our window. I didn’t think it was a bad idea that the cops came at first. The party was definitely in bad form and seemed like it was on the downswing anyway, but I doubt anyone would have guessed what happened could have happened, especially whoever called the cops. Especially if they’d been to other parties on the roof in the past, they’ve been broken up by 2 cops beofre with no incident. I have no idea why that fist kid got arrested but it all started when his buddy began filming his arrest (other hand raised in the air) with a camera phone and a cop threw said buddy into the roll gate directly across from the building. Is filming illegal?? I was shocked. After that everyone who pulled out a camera (many did in response to the roll gate) was thrown on the ground, hood of a cop car or against a wall. I’m talking 90 lb girls who did nothing but pull out a phone thrown hard. It just kept going and going, camera phone, kid on the ground, more cop cars. By the end we counted 30 police cruisers and at least one paddy wagon. The worst part was that we couldn’t think of anything to do or anyone to call… I don’t think it had anything to do with who threw the event or what it was about, I just think one cop made a bad decision and then so did a bunch more. Things got disgustingly out of hand. It was sad. I hope all those kids get the charges dropped. Any updates?
Hey everyone, this is William, the guy who wrote this article. I’m working on getting full updates and posting some more photos from that evening since it’s been so publicized by various media.
[...] 27, 2009 by wdunleavy Because it received so much attention, I’m bringing you more on the New School benefit show last Friday. For the original article and first edit of photos, [...]
[...] From Exquisit Corps – Because it received so much attention, I’m bringing you more on the New School benefit show last Friday. For the original article and first edit of photos, click [...]
For what it’s worth….I asked the folks who hosted this event to take charge of their party. it was way out of control…
I was met by 2 that agreed to handle the issue, and one that was so drunk that all she decided to express to me was a sense of entitlement. since she lives in the building, she apparently had every right to do what ever she wanted.
It took the hosts more than 30 minutes to decide to make an announcement about the pissing and throwing of beer bottles. they were pissing in the halls, stairs, roof, off of the roof. you name it! these hipsters/anarchists/whatever…had no respect for where someone lives.
I told them that people were going to start calling the cops, but they still delayed their announcement.
I, myself, did not call the cops, because i am all familiar with 90th precinct and their disgusting interventions…..but you tell me what someone is supposed to do when the organizers are much more interested in getting their drink on, rather than actually hosting a party?
and for the rest of my complaint….as for your hosts….since they moved in, they seem to throw a party a week. inviting their disrespectful friends who write unintelligible dribble all over our building. our building used to be pretty decent, now it looks like a high school bathroom. you tell me? at what point are your social gatherings activating people’s minds to do something constructive?
alright, i have to weigh in as well.
i live at 210 Cook too. im the dude with the skate ramp. my roof/balcony thing got pissed on too, i see the broken bottles and smell the pee and see the (very little and occasional (go look at bogart/sigel loft to compare)) graffiti in the halls after a party JUST AS I HAVE FOR 4 YEARS!
come on people, a party is a party, somerone is always gonna piss somewhere theyre not supposed to. yes, the organizers should have done a better job with that from the start, but i heard the announcement “please dont pee of the roof, neighbors are complaining and thats not cool, bathroom is in apt XXX” several times BEFORE police arrived. im talking 12:30am.
whoever called the police: that was a moron move. not sure if youre from nyc but i am and you are mistaken if you think the police are on your side here. you think nypd give a shit about where hipsters pee? about our balcony/roof thing? all you did was boost their arrest/ticket #s for the month, increasing their budget and encouraging them to look at hipsters/white kids and our parties as targets in the future. police dont help in situations like this.
also a very real threat to all of us was created when the police were called. in our neighborhood it is not uncommon for fire marshalls and building inspectors to take an interest in a loft building in the days and weeks after police are called for something like party noise. those inspectors can, and have recently, shut down and evicted whole lofts. you put us all at risk of losing our loft apts. so next time you have a problem with a party or neighbor thats so bad you want to call police… knock on my door instead and i and the other neighbors will solve it if possible. NO POLICE!
and our building should have a party every week. as long as proper preparations and announcements are made. its not a fancy apt building, its an industrial loft. people have complained about a lot if things over the years… parties, DJs, bands, skateramps, roof parties, etc. Almost none are valid complaints according to most residents and the building management. people who think the building should be clean and quiet at all times should move.
rant over. agree or disagree? find me and we’ll talk at the next roof party.
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