Good morning on this chilly Thursday.
The city is relatively calm this morning after a night of protests followed a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer for the July chokehold death of Eric Garner.
The protests, involving thousands of people, were largely peaceful.
A quick roundup:
• The police said this morning that 83 people were arrested, a vast majority for disorderly conduct and a few for obstruction. No one was charged with assaulting an officer.
• Protesters blocked traffic all over Midtown and at the Lincoln Tunnel, Brooklyn Bridge and R.F.K. Bridge, among other places.
• The marchers also tried to shut down the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, but were kept away. “#myNypd is protecting that tree more than they ever protected #EricGarner,” mused one Twitter user.
• An officer’s private car was set on fire outside the 77th Precinct station house in Crown Heights, but no arrests were made.
• Mr. Garner’s dying words, “I can’t breathe,” were chanted by protesters all over the city and across the country.
• Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who could be seen choking Mr. Garner in a video and whose action the medical examiner said caused Mr. Garner’s death, stated that he never intended to harm Mr. Garner.
• Officer Pantaleo said in a statement that he hoped Mr. Garner’s family members “will accept my personal condolences for their loss.” They did not.
• More protests are expected today, including one at Foley Square downtown at 5:30 p.m. and another on 125th Street and Park Avenue at 6 p.m.
• The Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders hold an 11 a.m. news conference on their plans to deal with what they call a “national crisis” of police violence against minorities.
• Mayor de Blasio, who said Wednesday night, “Anyone who believes in the values of this country should feel called to action right now,” does not have any events scheduled yet. A taped interview with him will air on HOT-97 FM radio at 8:15 a.m. Listen.
• The city said that it was speeding up a program to equip officers with body cameras and that some might begin wearing them as soon as Friday.
• Some critics of the police were not impressed by the camera measure. “What good is a body camera?” asked Representative Gregory Meeks of Queens. “In effect we had a body camera here. We’ve seen it all.”
Here’s what else you need to know.
WEATHER
Colder but not freezing: sunny with a high of 42.
Rain clouds move in Friday evening and share their bounty until early Sunday.
COMING UP TODAY
• A display of gingerbread sculptures made by city bakeries and restaurants opens at the Parker Meridien on West 56th Street. Visitors are asked to donate to the City Harvest food bank.
• Supporters of a $15 minimum wage for fast-food workers rally in Downtown Brooklyn at 6:30 a.m. and march from a McDonald’s on Chambers Street to City Hall at 11.
• In case you missed Tuesday’s auction of highway equipment on Staten Island, there’s one today at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, in East Flatbush. 9:30 a.m.
• The Food52 pop-up holiday market opens for four days at Bowery and Kenmare on the Lower East Side. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Holiday lights, caroling and a flotilla of trees in Harlem Meer near the northeast corner of Central Park at 5:30 p.m. [Free]
• Wesley Stace, the singer-songwriter formerly known as John Wesley Harding, plays at the atrium in Lincoln Center. 7:30 p.m. [Free]
• Knicks host Cavaliers, 8 p.m. (TNT). Islanders at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. (MSG+). Devils at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. (MSG).
• For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
COMMUTE
• L.I.R.R., Metro-North, N.J. Transit, Amtrak
• Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.
• Alternate-side parking: in effect until next Monday.
• Air travel: La Guardia, J.F.K., Newark.
IN THE NEWS
• Herman Badillo, the nation’s first Puerto Rican-born congressman and a fixture in Bronx and city politics for decades, died at 85. [New York Times]
• Several legal experts said that federal civil rights charges are unlikely in the Garner case. [DNAinfo]
• At least 3.5 percent of workers in New York State are paid less than minimum wage, the U.S. Labor Department says. [New York Times]
• A lawsuit filed in federal court seeks public access to Hart Island, the city’s potter’s field. [Daily News]
• Mayor de Blasio is creating an Office of Sustainability and appointing a veteran of the Clinton White House to run it. [Associated Press]
• A Brooklyn man was sentenced to six months for making fake 911 calls alleging subway explosions and stabbing threats, among other things. [New York Times]
• Scoreboard: Nets jangle Spurs, 95-93 in overtime.
• For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Thursday Briefing.
AND FINALLY …
If you’ve always wanted a Nobel Prize, today’s your big chance:
The DNA pioneer James Watson is auctioning the 1962 Nobel he won for discovering the double-helix structure at Christie’s.
Dr. Watson will donate most of the proceeds to educational institutions, a move aimed at restoring his somewhat tarnished reputation, our colleague Anemona Hartocollis writes.
In 2007, Dr. Watson was forced to retire after suggesting that people of African descent are less intelligent than those of European descent.
Christie’s expects the medal to fetch at least $2.5 million. The auction is at 1 p.m.
Kenneth Rosen contributed reporting.
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