7/9/2020
By Ivan Pereira
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio brought the Black Lives Matter movement right to President Donald Trump’s doorstep on Thursday.
As part of the city’s efforts to honor Black New Yorkers, the mayor, his wife, other elected officials and volunteers painted the message in bright yellow paint on Fifth Avenue, between 56th and 57th streets, directly in front of Trump Tower.
“Our city isn’t just painting the words on Fifth Avenue. We’re committed to the meaning of the message,” de Blasio tweeted.
As the paint was applied, many onlookers cheered and jeered Trump’s name.
“Black lives do matter, and I hope it’s not just something written on street and driven over,” Amber Fairweather told ABC New York station WABC.
The city has painted Black Lives Matter murals on streets in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Harlem, and will continue to paint more in the coming weeks, according to the mayor’s office.
Trump, who changed his legal residency to Florida from New York last year, expressed anger over the mural on Twitter over the last two weeks. In a pair of tweets on July 1, Trump said the paint was “denigrating this luxury Avenue,” and added the city should spend more fighting crime.
“We are not denigrating anything. We are liberating Fifth Avenue,” de Blasio said outside Trump Tower. “Who built this nation?”
