Battery Park rally urges Trump to close camps
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
A rally to protest the Trump administration’s
attacks on immigrants, refugees,
and asylum seekers took place
in Battery Park on Saturday as visitors to Ellis
Island queued outside of Castle Clinton.
Advocates with The New York Immigration
Coalition addressed how the Trump administration
has been separating families at
the U.S.-Mexico border. The rally’s proximity
to the Statue of Liberty drove home their
messages that refl ected poet Emma Lazarus’
words in the statue’s inscribed sonnet “The
New Colossus.”
Members and supporters of the immigrant
rights, refugee centers, justice and advocacy
groups —32BJ SEIU, African Communities
Together, Chinese American Planning Council,
Immigrant Defense Project, New Sanctuary
Coalition, S.T.R.O.N.G. Youth, Centro
Corazon de Maria, , Central American
Refugee Center and others — called on the
Trump administration to close the camps, respect
asylum laws, and treat all humans with
the dignity they deserve.
At one point, the rally’s speaker addressed
both the assembly and those in line for the
Statue of Liberty, asking how many of them
were immigrants and how many had parents
and grandparents who are immigrants. More
and more hands were raised. PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Battery Park visitors get expanded free WiFi
BY MARK HALLUM
Public WiFi service will
be expanded in the
Financial District following
an announcement by
the Alliance for Downtown
New York and the Battery
Park City Authority (BPCA).
Up to 1.5 million square
feet of free WiFi is now available
to the denizens of Battery
Park City once routers are
installed at Nelson A. Rockefeller,
Teardrop and Robert
F. Wagner, Jr. Parks, totaling 6
million square feet altogether.
“Our beautiful public spaces
are host to hundreds of programs
and thousands of parks
users. We’re delighted to have
partnered with the Downtown
Alliance to strengthen
ways to keep our community
connected as they enjoy all the
Battery Park City has to offer,”
said BPCA President & CEO
B.J. Jones. “We invite you to
enjoy this free service. Stay
tuned for more to come!”
Battery Park City’s esplanade
is the next phase of the
expansion coming in 2020, the
two groups said in a joint press
release, but this year’s expansion
marks 11 years since the
fi rst WiFi access points were
installed in 2008.
“Access to information is
crucial in today’s connected
world and as part of our mission
to support Lower Manhattan
we feel it’s vital to provide
free and easy Wi-Fi access to
as much of the neighborhood
as possible,” Downtown Alliance
President Jessica Lappin
said. “We thank the Battery
Park City Authority for working
with us to bring this service
to all of the residents on
the West side and we look forward
to seeing more selfi es of
residents living their best life
in Lower Manhattan.”
The Battery Park City Authority
is a New York State
Public Benefi t Corporation
which conducts a series of initiatives
to make the community
a model for sustainability
and commerce. The current
WiFi system is supported by
international law fi rm Wilmer
Cutler Pickering Hale and
Dorr while BPCA will provide
support for the new coverage
area.
PHOTO : MARK HALLUM
Free WiFi for visitors in Battery Park and the surrounding areas continues its expansion.
Schneps Media October 17, 2019 3