If you were unlucky, you may have found yourself stuck on an F or Q Train, deep underground, late Saturday afternoon. A Jordan Neely protest brought activists onto the tracks at the 63rd St. Station, halting subway traffic for nearly an hour.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
We thank or friend Sylvan Klein for the heads up. City media did little reporting on it.
Anger rose and spread after Neely, a young man overwhelmed by mental illness, had his life squeezed out of him by a 24-year-old ex-Marine on an F Train. Immediately after the homicide, NYPD allowed the white man who ended the life of a black man to walk away free. No charges.
This time, there wasn’t even a badge protecting him from responsibility.
When Mayor Eric Adams failed to condemn the killing of Neely, tensions rose higher, swelling to the border with Roosevelt Island.
The Neely Protest
Dozens of people jumped onto the tracks where F Trains heading for Roosevelt Island pass. They demanded action, specifically an arrest of Daniel Penny, the young man who was caught on video strangling Neely.
NYPD flooded the station with cops who were outnumbered by protestors. But the uniformed officers seen in the video above handled the tense situation with restraint, slowly but surely allowing protestors to leave voluntarily and arresting those who didn’t.
According to The Gothamist, some protestors who entered the tracks are still being sought.
