New Yorkers gathered and marched in droves across town on Tuesday night to celebrate the conviction of former Minneapolis agent Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd.
Cheers and honking of cars erupted around the Big Apple – from Harlem to Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn – as the guilty verdict was made.
“I was in my house, we watched the news and we all shouted, ‘Yes!’” Beatrice Samuel, 29, of Flatbush, told The Post.
She was one of hundreds who went to Barclays Center in the wake of the decision, including director Spike Lee, who was seen Tinkering on his bike and saying hello to passers-by.
Hours later, there were multiple marches in the city, with some protesters crossing the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn and others walking from Times Square to Washington Square Park.
At Barclays some celebrated by dancing to “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy, images showed on Twitter.
“I’m happy! I’m going to give it a try for this trial,” said Sharissee Maxwell, 28, of Fort Greene.
Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley spoke to the crowd at Barclays, telling them, “This verdict is a moment of justice for the nation – what we do next is up to us.”
The group, which grew to about a thousand, then marched through Downtown Brooklyn to and across the Manhattan Bridge, chanting “One Nation, Abolition” and “Can’t Bring Justice.” Only revolution. “
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told protesters on the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, “We have a little bit of responsibility … but I don’t think it will heal a wound.”
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters gathered at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem – and erupted in ecstatic cheers from “Black Lives Matter” when the verdict was read, according to video on social media.
Hundreds of people were also in Union Square when the decision was made, including many who had come out earlier in the day for a free weed event.
Black Lives Matter Greater New York Co-Founder Hawk Newsome addressed a crowd of protesters, leading them in a chant of “Power to the people!”, have their fists in the air.
“If we hadn’t been there, if America hadn’t gotten up and said ‘Black Lives Matter’, this wouldn’t have happened!” He said into a megaphone.
A group of about 100 gathered there and then appeared to be marching to Grand Central and chanting, “We love black women” and “We respect black men, we protect black men”, show images.
Several dozen protesters also flocked to Times Square, before marching downtown, stopping traffic on 34th Street and Seventh Avenues, and ending at Washington Square Park.
They carried signs that read ‘Justice for George Floyd’, ‘Accountability is Not Justice’ and ‘Jail All Killer Cops!’
One of the protesters, Isaiah Fenichel, 23, a Mt. Vernon resident and organizer of Strategy for Black Lives said he felt “bittersweet” about the verdict.
“I am very happy to see Derek Chauvin being convicted,” said Fenichel. “I am very happy that the system has worked in that regard.”
However, he added, “I’m also aware that it hasn’t worked for so many other people.”
Mary Rothfusz, 42, a meditation teacher from East Harlem, yelled and cried in Times Square when the verdict came, saying she “ felt disbelief we got all three counts. ”
“Unfortunately, statistically we are not winning from law enforcement,” she said. “I definitely didn’t think they would go with the highest penalty”
Additional reporting by Ben Brachfeld