The lobby of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Midtown Manhattan office turned into a protest site Wednesday as 19 demonstrators marched into the Third Avenue building near East 55th Street, hoisting “Tax the Rich” signs and demanding the governor defend New Yorkers’ access to health care. Several Democratic Socialists of America–backed candidates joined the sit-in and were ultimately taken into custody along with other protesters.
According to the New York Daily News, police removed the group from the building and charged them with trespassing. Organizers said 19 people in total were arrested, and the paper identified DSA state Assembly candidates Conrad Blackburn, Samantha Kattan and Illapa Sairitupac among those facing charges.
Protesters say budget cuts threaten care
Organizers told reporters the sit-in was aimed at pressuring Hochul to publicly oppose federal budget proposals that they said could strip health coverage from hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, according to the New York Daily News. Ella Mahoney, a DSA spokeswoman, warned the cuts could leave “up to a million people in the state without health insurance,” while Olivia Killingsworth put it bluntly to the paper: “I could die if Hochul doesn’t protect my healthcare.”
Officials and legal notes
A law enforcement source told reporters that those arrested were charged with trespassing, and police said there were no injuries reported during the removal from the lobby. A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Past protests and political context
Midtown has become a familiar protest backdrop for critics of the governor. As documented by amNewYork, earlier actions outside Hochul’s Midtown office, including sit-ins and traffic-blocking demonstrations, have also ended with arrests. Organizers said Wednesday’s lobby occupation is part of a broader, escalating campaign to pressure state leaders on health care access and taxation as Albany wrestles with budget priorities.
Those arrested in the latest action were processed and charged with trespassing, though it was not immediately known when they would be arraigned. DSA organizers indicated they intend to keep turning up the heat with more direct actions targeting elected officials over the same health care and tax issues that fueled Wednesday’s protest.
