Riverhead May Day rally supports small businesses, OLA public safety law
The spirit of International Worker’s Day was alive in Riverhead as dozens rallied in support of small brick-and-mortar stores and urged shoppers to boycott big corporations.
At a more local level, participants of the May Day demonstration also used the national day of action on Friday afternoon to pressure Riverhead town officials to pass OLA of Eastern Long Island’s proposed public safety law.
Hosted by the East End Visibility Brigade, demonstrators met at the Suffolk County Supreme Court on Griffing Avenue, then marched to Riverhead Town Hall.
As chants rang out, drums banged and a large, cloth banner reading “Pass OLA public safety law” waved outside, rally organizer Kerry Flanagan walked into the building to deliver signed petitions to the town clerk’s office.
Once she submitted the petitions, participants proceeded down Main Street to show their solidarity for small shops and restaurants.
“The safety of everyone in our community, no matter your immigration status, must be ensured,” Ms. Flanagan said. “Many of our small businesses are Latino-owned, and have been affected by ICE activity in Riverhead in the past year.”
Photos from the May Day rally taken by Ana Borruto
Riverhead Police Department officers remained on standby during the hour-long peaceful demonstration to maintain safety for the attendees. Some vehicles who passed honked in support. One pickup truck driver blasted the song “Ice, Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice while driving by.
Indivisible Long Island hosted a “Rock the Resistance” picnic at Indian County Park following the rally.
“Once we realize it’s not left versus rights, that it’s billionaires versus the people, is when we’ll really realize that we have the power, and we can take it back,” said Allison Kanas of Indivisible Long Island, who attended the rally with her young son, Adler. “We really think that the next stage of making our voices heard is going to be economic blackouts and economic resistance, and this is the first trial run of that with our major mass mobilization group.”
Historically, May Day is an international day of labor that traces back to the 19th century. It is a day of “economic disruption,” organizers said, which means no to school, work or shopping.
Barbara Farr of Cutchogue stressed the importance of calling local representatives and urging them to consider the impact of their actions on constituents.
“The reality is that we’re in a world economic crisis right now,” Ms. Farr said. “It’s very concerning to me, so I want to try to wake people up.”
