Rainy Greenport rally tells government “Hands off!”
Several hundred residents of Greenport Village, Shelter Island and Southold Town protested in a rally Saturday, April 5, in Greenport to demonstrate their opposition to the policies being carried out by President Donald Trump.
Steady rain started just as the rally at Mitchell Park got underway, but protesters remained until the demonstration ended — about 90 minutes later.
The “Hands Off” movement — a coalition of organizations ranging from civil rights and women’s rights groups to labor unions — organized the nationwide demonstrations.
Rallies and protests against Trump administration polices brought thousands of Long Islanders into the streets Saturday, with a large demonstration in Riverhead and protests reported in towns and villages across Nassau and Suffolk counties.
There were protests in all 50 states, with reports of tens of thousands of people marching in Washington, D.C., demonstrating against cuts of government employees and services.
Wendy Turgeon said it was heartening to see so many people come out on a day when the weather was so bad, but she wished there had been more young people in the crowd. The protests are very much for their future, she added. Ms. Turgeon also wondered how many people who had never attended a protest were in attendance, moved to act by what’s going on in the country.
“People have to contact members of Congress to try to move them to act on behalf of constituents whose interests are being ignored,” Ms. Turgeon said.
Ann Biddlecom attended because she said she “couldn’t stay silent in the midst of the horrors being done by this government. We were loud and charged, even with icy rain flying all around us.”
Karen Sauvigne, whose “Make Hatred Wrong Again” hat sheltered her from the rain, said she’s been participating in protests every Thursday for the last three weeks.
Jeanne Merkel said the protest was “effective in raising our spirits, showing us we’re not alone and inspiring us to collective action. Anger is understandable, but we have to understand the authoritarian playbook and channel our energy into creating a positive and inspiring movement to counteract it.”
Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor), told the Greenport crowd that the services being taken away are ones that the government is obligated to offer.
“Ask your congressman to uphold the tenets of our Constitution,” he appealed to the gathering, referring to Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville). “Residents should tell their elected representatives to ‘Do your job,’ and demand action.”
Southold Town Councilman Greg Doroski (D), who has announced he’s running for the Suffolk County legislative seat held by Catherine Stark (R), questioned why she wasn’t at the rally. “This is a country we will fight for,” Mr. Doroski told the crowd. The Trump administration is cutting vital services, including Medicaid for those in need of health care, in order to give the richest in the country $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, he said.
“In the rain, in the cold, we are standing here saying we will not stand for this,” Mr. Doroski said.
“I’m a mild-mannered library worker,” Southold Town Councilman Brian Mealy (D) said. As resources are being taken away by the federal government — including aid to libraries — he pledged to show compassion for those whose rights and needs, he said, are being stripped away.
Protest chants were heard through the rainy, windy day. When Southold resident Caroline Peabody asked the soaking wet crowd to join her to march through Greenport, almost every person did.
