5th Avenue is well known as the backbone of the city; it is a broad thoroughfare which divides the East Side from the West, and a traditional site of parades and celebrations.
On Saturday, April 5, more than 100,000 New Yorkers gathered there to march together, to express their opposition to the callous and destructive dismantling of a host of U.S. government programs by the new trump/musk administration.
It was an unseasonably cold, raw day, punctuated by occasional rain showers, as I set out to meet a friend outside the 42nd Street Library. As I approached, it quickly became apparent that 5th Avenue was completely packed with people. My friend appeared from among the masses, and we found a street corner from which to experience the event. As far as we could see, the streets were filled- with crowds of people, and with their banners, signs, and flags. As the march downtown began, thousands passed our corner. We marveled at the enthusiastic turnout in such inhospitable weather, frequently gazing uptown to see how far the crowd extended. We continued glancing north for well over an hour, with no end in sight. When we finally abandoned our corner and joined the marchers heading downtown, the avenue around us still appeared filled with humanity in every direction.
The crowd's rallying cry was "Hands Off!", and it referred to a whirlwind of widespread and drastic cuts to essential programs being made under the guise of 'efficiency'. These include vital services and staff in Healthcare (Medicare, Medicaid); Retirement (Social Security); Public Health (Environmental Protection, Cancer Research, Disease Prevention, Food and Drug Safety), Veteran's Services, and many more. These cuts -along with the firing of tens of thousands of dedicated government employees- are being overseen by multi-billionaire Elon Musk, a non-elected appointee of donald trump, who famously promised to be 'a dictator on day one'.
"Hands Off!" events were also held on that day in a reported 1,000 U.S. locations besides New York City, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Washington D.C., and numerous towns and villages throughout the country, with participation nationwide numbering in the millions. These overflow crowds were also echoed by mass demonstrations around the globe, reflecting the reality that a threat to freedom, democracy, and the rule of law here at home could also have serious consequences for people throughout the world.
