Protesters With Pitchforks Decry Income Inequality, Marched Around Rich Hamptons Estates

A convoy of protesters -- some of them carrying plastic pitchforks -- descended on one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the Hamptons, Wednesday (July 1), to denounce the rich and decry the growing income inequality in the country. Over 100 drivers and around 200 marchers paraded by the homes of some of the wealthiest people in the world, including former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Tax The Rich

“Tax the rich, not the poor,” protesters chanted outside the former mayor’s $20 million Southhampton mansion. Some of the demonstrators called the once-presidential candidate a “looter.”

According to reports, several protesters came in from the Big Apple. They are demanding that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should raise taxes on the 118 billionaires residing in the state to cope up with the sharp revenue shortfall brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The group is complaining about the recent announcement of the governor to cut 20% in state funding from hospitals, housing agencies, and schools. Protesters noted that, while the pandemic has hugely impacted low-income and colored communities, U.S. billionaires’ wealth increased.

“Enough is enough. It’s time for New York State to raise taxes on the rich instead of cutting services for working people,” Alice Nascimento said. She is the Director of Policy & Research, New York Communities for Change, which is the group that helped organize the protest action.

Mixed Sectors

Among the organizers is the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, who claimed that they were already taking an economic hit before the pandemic began. Around 40 medallion cabs took part in the protest action, with cabbies declaring they were already in a debt crisis. “No more suicides. No more bankruptcies," the cabbies, leading other demonstrators, chanted at one point during the protest rally.

Shinnecock Indian Nation members also took part in the demonstration. They included Rebecca Genia, who said that billionaires took their lands to develop their mansions and golf courses, and then profit from coronavirus ravages, all the while exploiting her fellow members who work in those developments. “It’s clear the real looters in New York are billionaires and it’s time to make them pay their fair share so we can all thrive,” Genia said.