NYC Mayor de Blasio planning massive Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower 'to antagonize the president'
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is reportedly planning to install a massive 'Black Lives Matter' mural just outside the Trump Tower in Manhattan. It is reported that the mural will be painted in yellow block letters along Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th street. A source said, "Obviously he is doing it to antagonize the president," reports NY Post. "This is what he is concerned about while the city burns. What an amateur politician," an insider added. The source also added that the mayor's office had contacted the Department of Transportation about the likelihood and feasibility of the mural but it was mentioned that de Blasio was keen to have it done. The idea of the mural emerged after a June 7 meeting along with community leaders and activists which included Rev Kevin McCall and Gwen Carr, a source said.
De Blasio reportedly came up with the idea days after Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser had 'Black Lives Matter' painted alongside a street leading to the White House. As per sources, the plan was finalized last week after the locations for the other murals across the five boroughs were announced on Juneteenth. The installation, set to be made outside Trump Tower, will pop up across all five boroughs. Currently, three have been planned for Manhattan, one in Harlem, and one in front of Trump Tower.
Julia Arredondo, a spokeswoman for the mayor, shared, "The president is a disgrace to the values we cherish in New York City. He can’t run or deny the reality we are facing, and any time he wants to set foot in the place he claims is his hometown, he should be reminded Black Lives Matter." Earlier this month, de Blasio said, "It’s time to do something officially representing this city to recognize the power of the fundamental idea, Black Lives Matter — the idea that so much American history has wrongly renounced but now must be affirmed."
The Black Lives Matter movement has taken precedence since the death of 46-year-old George Floyd who was killed while being arrested. A now-former police officer Derek Chauvin had knelt on the neck of George Floyd for almost 9 sickening minutes. Floyd was heard repeatedly telling Chauvin and the three other arresting officers that he was unable to breathe but no one intervened. Floyd lost consciousness and eventually died in a video that went viral and sparked nationwide outrage and protests.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo has said that George Floyd's death was a "murder." Arradondo also said that Derek Chauvin, the then-cop responsible for digging his knee into the neck of George Floyd "knew what he was doing" as he had undergone specific training on preventing "positional asphyxiation" or suffocation. We had earlier reported that Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter but had his charges upped to second-degree murder and manslaughter. The other three now-former officers, Thao, Thomas Lane, and J Alexander Kueng, involved in the killing of Floyd were charged with aiding and abetting murder.