Climate activists occupy BlackRock headquarters on third day of New York protests
Climate activists have gathered inside the headquarters of financial investment firm BlackRock to protest what the company’s investment in fossil fuels.
This is the third straight day of climate protests in New York City, led by activist groups like New York Communities for Change (NYCC) and the New York chapters of the Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion.
Video shows activists sitting down in front of escalators in the building holding banners that read things like “How dare you plunder the Earth?” and “Your greed = climate chaos.”
The activists say that they’ve spread coal on the floor in front of the sit-in.
The Independent has contacted a representative for BlackRock for comment.
A spokesperson for the NYPD told The Independent that by noon, the protest had been cleared and 10 people had been arrested.
On Monday, activists interrupted an interview of Senator Ted Cruz on The View to protest the Texas Republican’s appearance and ABC’s coverage of the climate crisis. On Tuesday, protestors blocked all lanes of traffic on Manhattan’s Park Avenue, home to many of the city’s wealthiest residents, leading to 15 arrests.
Alice Hu, a climate campaigner with NYCC, told The Independent on Tuesday that these are part of a weeklong series of protests along Park Avenue to highlight “billionaires and corporations for their outsized role in driving the climate and inequality crises.”
The protests also come 10 years after Hurricane Sandy hit the area, bringing widespread devastation and killing more than 50 people in New York alone.
“10 years ago Hurricane Sandy hit New York displacing tens of thousands of New Yorkers,” NYCC tweeted on Wednesday. They added that the climate crisis and housing issues have since gotten worse — and demanded that New York Governor Kathy Hochul “#TaxTheRich for green housing for all.”
“Green housing” refers to the concept of homes and apartments that emit few or no carbon emissions, such as through installing solar panels for energy or eschewing fossil fuels for more climate-friendly heating options like electric heat pumps.
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