Midtown Manhattan braces for another night of George Floyd protests
High-end stores along Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan battened down the hatches Monday as though a hurricane were on the way, boarding up windows in advance of another expected night of protests and looting.
Cartier, Versace and Saks Fifth Avenue were among the retailers covering up along the famed shopping stretch, one day after what was supposed to be a peaceful protest in honor of Minnesota police brutality victim George Floyd again devolved into violence.
Dozens of stores in SoHo were vandalized and looted late Sunday into early Monday by the throngs, which according to officials have been infiltrated and partly hijacked by anarchists out only for destruction.
Business owners in Midtown’s Diamond District were also covering up their windows Monday as the city braced for what’s feared to be another night of chaos — and a local police source told The Post that it was the right move.
“I don’t blame them. We can’t protect them after what happened the last two nights downtown,” said the insider. “They have millions of dollars invested, and the mayor does not care about them.
“So much for opening up the city,” the source also cracked, referring to the long-anticipated reopening of some businesses following a lengthy, coronavirus-induced shutdown, expected to begin in the city on June 8.