Protests continue on Long Island; retailers board up stores

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Protests continue on Long Island; retailers board up stores

Kristin Thorne has more on protests on Long Island which continued Tuesday in response to the death of George Floyd.

LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- Protests on Long Island continued Tuesday in response to the death of George Floyd.

Protesters in Freeport had planned to march down the Nautical Mile, but police blocked off the road.

"They're panicking because what they see in other communities and other cities," protester G. Dewey Smalls said. "This is Freeport. This is going to be peaceful. It's been peaceful from day one."

In Hempstead Monday night, police arrested three people for breaking into and burglarizing Eblens clothing and shoe store on Fulton Avenue.

Eyewitness News obtained cell phone video which shows the looters breaking through the front window of the store.

Chief of the Hempstead Village Police Department Paul Johnson said investigators are reviewing the video.

"The officers got there very quickly," Johnson said. "Some people ran out. One person got in a car. An officer in a marked patrol car chased that car. They actually went into Uniondale."

Johnson said a woman was arrested at the scene. He said the looters were not from the Hempstead area -- the driver of the vehicle was from Maine.

"I'm pleased that the residents of the village have been following the law," said Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan. "We encourage them to continue to do so."

Retailers and landlords across Long Island are taking steps to secure their buildings from potential looters.

Most of the Americana Manhasset has been boarded up.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Americana Manhasset said, "Out of an abundance of caution, a number of our brands made the decision to board their stores, similar to what they are doing in their other locations."

Crews Tuesday could be seen boarding up parts of Roosevelt Field. Most of the ground level of the mall is now covered in plywood.

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