RNC's private prison for protesters in NY

[diamond geezer]

link (http://www.rense.com/general57/vitmo.htm)

LETTER BY ERIN STARR
*
My 21-year old daughter disappeared from NYC last Tuesday afternoon when walking with friends through a park where no protest was being held -- and was held prisoner -- without being charged -- by the NYPD for three days.
*
The first day and night she spent in an unsafe and inhumane facility at Pier 57 ("Little Guantanamo") provided by the Republican Party. Yes, it was managed by the Republican National Committe. It was leased by the RNC to hold political dissenters who disagreed with the Bush administration. The second two days, my daughter was in a city jail in Manhattan, where her treatment improved. She practices Buddhist precepts of compassion (she told the NYPD officers that she knew they must be tired and overworked also, and she did not resist arrest). She is a graduate student in Poli Sci at the University of Hawaii and is a MortarBoard honor society/service club member. The notorious Pier 57 (owned by the HudsonRiver Trust--a city/state consortium) was dubbed "Little Guantanamo" by reporters who also got caught up in police sweeps and who said it looked like the Guantanamo Bay prison built by the USA to hold the Al Qaeda terrorist political prisoners in Cuba. Pier 57 was leased by the RNC before their convention. They arranged for the NYPD to put up the chain link holding pens with razor wire on top in the old Pier 57 warehouse that had oil, gas and asbestos dust on the floor from a previous fire. My heart was in my throat when I got a call from one of my daughter's friends on Oahu who told me she had been arrested and taken to Little Guantanamo. I looked it up on the internet and fear crept into me.
*
I called my daughter's cell phone over and over ("it's mom, where ARE you, call me"). She didn't answer. Only hours before, she had been calling us with joy, telling us of the peaceful protests and beautiful march. But now, nothing. I had nightmarish visions of a fire sweeping over the combustible floor with hundreds -- nearly a thousand -- trapped in the chainlink pens, razor wire on the top of the pens making escape impossible. My husband called the NYPD to ask who had issued a Certificate of Occupancy or Fire Safety Inspection Certificate and who wasmanaging Pier 57. He was given the number for the Republican National Committee. Yes. My husband and I looked at each other in silent, cold horror. In America? The Republicans have set up a private detention camp for their political prisoners that can hold 1000 under inhumane and unsafe conditions!? My husband slowly dialed that number, got the RNC, and the Republican rep who answered the phone said, in answer to my husbands' inquiries about safety: "those protesters don't deserve a Holiday Inn, and they're all criminals anyway!"

For some pictures go here (http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/114761/index.php)

Just who are the real "freedom haters" in this world?

[zimv20]

there's something fairly unbelievable about this story. anyone got another source?

[ocellnuri]

There are a few hundred comments on the page with the pictures. They tell more first-hand accounts, and I think there are a few links.

[kilpajr]

This is ridiculous. If this story is really legitimate, why have none of the major networks shown any of this? This is pure propaganda. Is it possible some people were taken near the protesters by accident? Absolutely. Was the situation as bad as this site tries to make it look? Definitely not.

[LeeTom]

This is ridiculous. If this story is really legitimate, why have none of the major networks shown any of this?

No, THAT is ridiculous. You really believe that the major news networks cover stuff like this? They hate being sympathetic to protesters. I saw so much stuff go down at WTO that was appalling on the police side that never appeared in the local or national news, then or since.

I witnessed a policeman mace a homeless man lying down on the ground, because there were protesters near. A group of protesters then washed out his eyes with water and sat with him until he felt better.

I have no doubt in my mind that this story is legitimate. What part of it is really that unbelievable???

Lee Tom

[janey]

This is ridiculous. If this story is really legitimate, why have none of the major networks shown any of this? This is pure propaganda. Is it possible some people were taken near the protesters by accident? Absolutely. Was the situation as bad as this site tries to make it look? Definitely not.
The way protesters, EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, were treated is ridiculous. Were protesters at the DNC sent to a similar place? No. So wait...does that mean its okay for people to protest one person and not okay for people to protest another?

Oh wait, do you not know what the Bill of Rights is? Here, let me quote, verbatim, the First Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Jeez, you'd think the Bush administration would be used to criticism from protesters, since they've been getting a lot of that in the past 4 years.

[ocellnuri]

It's just part of the War on Criticis- I mean.. Terrorism.

[blackfox]

hmmmmm...as much as I despise the Bush Administration, this seems too much for even them...it also seems like journalistic dynamite, if true...

I am not dismissing this out of hand, but need some more verification to lend credibility to something this unbelieveable...will keep an eye out.

[diamond geezer]

A Police response to the allegations and further responses to the Police's response.

link (http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/116693/index.php)

PRESS RELEASE NO.
Thursday, September 2, 2004


POLICE COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W KELLY REMARKS REGARDING PASS CENTER


THERE HAVE BEEN SOME EXAGGERATED CLAIMS AND OUTRIGHT FALSEHOODS ABOUT CONDITIONS AT OUR POST-ARREST SCREENING SITE, OR "PASS" ON PIER 57 AT WEST 15TH STREET. THE FACTS ARE THESE:


THE "PASS" FACILITY IS JUST THE FIRST STOP IN THE OTHERWISE STANDARD ARREST PROCESSING PROCEDURE.


NO PRISONERS ARE HOUSED THERE, AND THE LONGEST ANY PERSON HASBEEN DETAINED WAITING FURTHER PROCESSING HAS BEEN 8 HOURS.


MOST GO THROUGH THE FACILITY IN ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF. SOME DELAYS HAVE BEEN CAUSED IN FINDING PROPERTY LEFT BY ARRESTEES ON BUSES AND VANS THAT TRANSPORTED THEM THERE. AND ON SOME OCCASIONS, THERE HAVE BEEN DELAYS IN MATCHING ARRESTING OFFICERS WITH THEIR PRISONERS. BUT AGAIN, NO ONE HAS BEEN THERE LONGER THAN 8 HOURS.


ALL ARRESTEES HAVE HAD IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO TOILET FACILITIES AND DRINKING WATER. WHILE AT THE FACILITY, THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM THEIR PROPERTY, WHICH IS SAFEGUARDED BY OUR PROPERTY CLERK PERSONNEL. THEY ARE THEN ESCORTED THROUGH A MAGNETOMETER.


IF THE MAGNETOMETER ALARM IS TRIGGERED, A HAND WAND IS USED. ONLY IF THE WAND INDICATES A CONCEALED METAL OBJECT IS THE ARRESTEE SEARCHED FURTHER.


ARRESTEES ARE THEN INTERVIEWED AS PART OF OUR ON-LINE BOOKING PROCESS. WHILE THEY ARE WAITING, THEY ARE KEPT IN HOLDING AREAS SECURED BY CHAIN-LINK FENCING. THESE AREAS HAVE BENCHES AS WELL AS PORTA-SANDS.


CONTRARY TO ANOTHER FALSE REPORT, THE AIR QUALITY AT THE FACILITY IS FINE AND WAS TESTED AS RECENTLY AS LAST NIGHT.

The court has already proven the 8 hour claim to be utterly fraudulant. It is beyond pathetic that anyone would even try to lie about the conditions of that location.

Fire them all.

is there word on a class action lawsuit? i know people want to move on from the ordeal. but there is so much merit for a class action. there is proof!!! and even the judge ruled the police in contempt. this could bring many changes in the way proestors are treated in the city. this could also ruin some careers, if taken to court. i was in pier 57 for 15 hours. they made you wait to use the bathrooms and you could only get a drink if you had a cup. no one was given the chance to talk to a lawyer until they left the peir.
oh yea, and the floor was covered in oil and the was asbestos in the ceiling. I personally know two people who spent 20 hours at Guantanamo on the Hudson. Both were from out of state, yet both got the DATs Kelly said they were ineligible to receive. And there are transit workers openly talking about why they abandoned the facility ten years ago, after a fire and asbestos contamination. The oil was from the buses they used to park there before they decided the building was unfit for humans. I think the fact that the city was found to be in contempt of court on 9/2 speaks a lot louder than Kelly's shouted lies. i was "lucky" and only had to spend a 12 hour overnight stay at Pier 57. (friends of mine were there for at least 18 hours). they mention the benches and porta-toilets, but don't mention that there were maybe 5 benches per 100 people (we did a headcount in our cage), so if you didn't fit, you had to sleep on the gasoline-soaked cement floor, and you could only use the toilets when they would LET you. i also read a police statement somewhere that we were allowed a phone call there which is a blatant lie. and even if there wasn't "substantial" asbestos in the air, which i don't necessarily believe, rumor is that the slime on the floor is the after-effect of an asbestos fire that happened there when the place was a bus depot (the source for this is one of the EMTs on sight.) so, **** yeah, class action suit. i know the NLG and probably other orgs are working on it so i would probably just contact them for updates.

[zimv20]

from the original link (http://www.rense.com/general57/vitmo.htm)

The New York Civil Liberties Union is compiling stories from protesters who say they were arrested for no reason, detained for unnecessarily long periods or held in unsafe conditions.


okay, cool. i checked out their site, and found info about pier 57 here (http://www.nyclu.org/rnc_policing_grades_pr_090304.html)

The NYCLU particularly notes several questionable actions by the NYPD. [including]
Dangerous conditions at the Pier 57 detention facility: Having announced for months that it was prepared to handle over 1000 arrests a day during the RNC, the City chose to detain arrestees in this dank, filthy bus depot where people had to sit or lie on the floor covered with soot and quite possibly toxic automotive fluids. The conditions left many with rashes and respiratory problems during their detention stay and after they were released. The NYCLU is in the process of testing a sample gathered by a medic who was part of a sweeping arrest, although he was doing nothing more than monitoring a protest event.


okay, i can believe that people were detained in this area by the NYC police force and there were probably a number of rights being violated. it's this business about the RNC funding a detention area that i find somewhat unbelievable. but i'll keep digging.

[zimv20]

i went to the front page of the originally linked site, www.rense.com . i found a few, uh, tidbits. here are some other stories linked to from the main page:

The Flying Triangle Enigma
UFO Appears For Second Year At UK Air Show - Photos
Bush Bisexuality Asserted In Scorching New Book -- Is Bush Gay?
911 Was Staged To Defame Muslims

[themadchemist]

there's something fairly unbelievable about this story. anyone got another source?

hmmmmm...as much as I despise the Bush Administration, this seems too much for even them...it also seems like journalistic dynamite, if true...

I am not dismissing this out of hand, but need some more verification to lend credibility to something this unbelieveable...will keep an eye out.

What strikes me is that both zim and blackfox have expressed ardent views in opposition to the Bush administration, yet they still question as incredible reports that support their general contentions.

Can we say the same about their conservative counterparts? :rolleyes:

[zimv20]

i'm not finding anything remotely reasonable about the RNC funding the pier 57 detention center. i did find this...

link (http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstoriesny_story_245163526.html)

Sitting less than 20 blocks south of Madison Square Garden and extending hundreds of feet into the Hudson, Pier 57 once was used as a terminal for cruise ships. In the 1950s, a three-story, concrete garage for city buses was erected.

The garage, which closed last year, was recently taken over by the NYPD. The department says it cleaned up a section of the interior and built a series of chain-link holding pens in preparation for the convention.

[diamond geezer]

I didn't check out any other stories on that website, they do sound rather dodgy.

Attention grabbing headline though. Cal me the king of yellow journalism.

[Thanatoast]

Aren't we all missing the larger picture here? Namely that people were arrested for nothing more than criticizing the president. This doesn't sound any alarms?

[Chip NoVaMac]

there's something fairly unbelievable about this story. anyone got another source?

I don't disbelieve the basic account. The DC police did the same sort of thing a couple years ago I think at an IMF/World Bank protest.

[wordmunger]

Aren't we all missing the larger picture here? Namely that people were arrested for nothing more than criticizing the president. This doesn't sound any alarms?

They were arrested for things like "parading without a permit." Many protests were allowed to proceed peaceably.

However, it does sound like the treatment of the protesters was appalling, by any stretch, and many people were arrested mistakenly. I'd say the conditions at Guantanamo were in many ways better.

[zimv20]

Aren't we all missing the larger picture here? Namely that people were arrested for nothing more than criticizing the president. This doesn't sound any alarms?
yes, tons of alarms. if you'll recall, the city was basically found in contempt and, according to estimates, will have to pay some half million in fines.

but this behavior is nothing new when bush comes to town. keep 'em away and lock 'em up.

it's the "RNC funded the holding area" thing which i found so unbelievable and wanted to look into more.

[MikeAR]

Here's a good first hand account of an RNC Protest expirience on a larger scale. It's a group of gay anti-RNC protesters who were help for quite a while without reason and then charged and fined.

http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/19791/

[Chip NoVaMac]

Hey, just remember that we haven't suffered another terrorist attack here in the US since 9-11.

Oh, by the way I have some of Lisa's "tiger rocks" available.... :D

[janey]

Hey, just remember that we haven't suffered another terrorist attack here in the US since 9-11.
wait so is that all you care about? That the US hasnt had another real terrorist attack since three years ago?

You do realize many other countries have to deal with terrorist attacks, be it in small or large numbers, every day?

In the bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, 11 people died.
In the Beslan hostage situation, 300+ people were killed, with 200+ missing.
Blast near Moscow subway station kills 10 people.
Airplane bombings in Russia kill 90.
~22 foreign oil workers in Saudi Arabia were taken hostage and later killed.
The March 2004 Madrid train bombings killed 200 people and injured 1400.
14 Hamas terrorists were killed and 40 were wounded in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month.
109 Kurds are killed in 2 suicide bombings in Arbil, Iraq
Suicide bombings at Shi'a holy sites in Iraq kill 181 and wound more than 500


The list goes on and on. The US is neither the only victim of [major] terrorist attacks, nor are they the only terrorists.
Really, 9/11 was a sad event but to see how people try to take advantage of that for their own greed is unbelievable. Instead of having memorials remembering the events of 9/11 people should lynch people who only care about 9/11 for the emotional meaning it has for most people worldwide and use it for their own purposes. We're the laughingstock of everybody because we cannot deal with it, and have to use it as an excuse to kill people and become labeled as terrorists.

[iMeowbot]

it's the "RNC funded the holding area" thing which i found so unbelievable and wanted to look into more.
If NY works anything like Mass, the RNC may have been required to pay for extra police details during the convention as a condition of getting their permits. If so, RNC would indeed have footed the bill, but how things were run would have been all up to the city.

[zimv20]

If NY works anything like Mass, the RNC may have been required to pay for extra police details during the convention as a condition of getting their permits. If so, RNC would indeed have footed the bill, but how things were run would have been all up to the city.
that makes perfect sense. that's a far cry from what's being claimed in the article, imo.

[janey]

okay its about time someone posted some legitimate links to this thing.
Many of the links from a google news search turn up a few reputable/legitimate news sources.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=pier+57&btnG=Search+News

And I heard this thing on the radio..it was absolutely ridiculous.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/03/1457246

That thing was just...saddening.

[iMeowbot]

that makes perfect sense. that's a far cry from what's being claimed in the article, imo.
Oh, I believe that something as described is perfectly plausible in New York. I couldn't help but be reminded of the ordeal of picking up a towed car from Pier 76 :D

[Chip NoVaMac]

wait so is that all you care about? That the US hasnt had another real terrorist attack since three years ago?


Sorry if you lost the point that the Bush administration has been making to the American people as to why they should remain in control. They are trying to tell us that they have made us safer from attack. Sort of Lisa's "tiger rock". Not looking at history that it was about three years since the last terrorist attack on US soil till the 9-11 attack.

In fact you might have a point that the Bush administration has made the world less safe by some of their foreign policy actions.