The role police officers should play in the annual parade has been debated for years, but it took on new heat amid a national reckoning around police brutality. Last year, the NYPD attacked marchers or partiers twice during Pride weekend. Twitter users were in disbelief at what was happening in the park during what was supposed to be a celebratory event NYPD officers used pepper spray on Pride attendees who were in the Greenwich Village park early on Sunday evening after revelers got angry with how police responded to a break in the metal barricades surrounding the popular park.
People then tended to him in the street following the beating late on Sunday night.Įarlier in the evening, several people were arrested as simmering tensions between Pride-goers and the police suddenly boiled over. A woman yelled at him accusing him of using a slur. The man was seen standing next to his food cart when he was suddenly caught off-guard, punched in the head and nearly knocked off his feet.Īs he attempted to flee, a group chased him before he finally fell onto the street where police ran to his aid. The days prior to the park's trashing saw violence and tension between NYPD and Pride celebrators.Īn elderly hot dog seller in the city's embattled Washington Square Park had a busted lip, bloody nose and was seen bleeding from his head after being punched in the face several times by a woman. Meanwhile, public trash cans were overflowing with garbage as of Monday, with detritus scattered throughout the park, as well-heeled local residents in Greenwich Village continue to complain of ongoing rowdiness in the area.Ī smattering of park-going partiers still remained as of Monday morning, congregating together amongst the trash heaps that were littered about the park, while some of the city's homeless scoured the park's debris for recyclables.Ī broom and janitorial trash bin can be seen later Monday morning, beginning the process of what will be a massive cleanup of Washington Square Park The scene at Washington Square Park on Monday morning was filthy following another weekend of assaults, arrests and revelry, after New York City's Pride celebrations were marred by fighting and skirmishes with police, who used pepper spray to regain control of the growing crowds Sunday evening.įallen Pride flags, empty liquor bottles and beer cans, and pizza boxes were among the trash that had been strewn about the iconic Lower Manhattan park amidst the weekend's festivities, which saw thousands of people descend upon Washington Square Park while partying well past the park's midnight curfew.
The park has been the site of stabbings and drug use, to the fury of well-heeled local residents in Greenwich Village.Throughout June, with COVID restrictions lifted, Washington Square Park has been the site of rowdy all-night parties and even illegal boxing matches.Tensions were already high between the police and LGBTQ community after uniformed NYPD cops were banned from attending any official Pride events until at least 2025.NYPD officers in riot gear used pepper spray on parkgoers.A food vendor was punched in the face several times late on Sunday night as the city's Pride celebrations continued in Washington Square Park, and at least three people were also arrested Sunday afternoon.Thousands of people descended upon the iconic Lower Manhattan park over the weekend, while partying well past the park's midnight curfew.Fallen Pride flags, empty liquor bottles and beer cans, and pizza boxes were among the trash that had been strewn about the park amidst the weekend's festivities.The scene at Washington Square Park on Monday morning was quite dirty following another weekend of assaults, arrests and revelry, after New York City's Pride celebrations ended early Monday morning.empty liquor bottles, beer cans, and pizza boxes are seen littered across Washington Square Park following another weekend of fights, arrests and revelry