Photos: Protestors march from Brooklyn to Manhattan over the murder of Jordan Neely

Demonstrators marched from Barclays Center to the 7th precinct Thursday night to protest the killing and how it's been handled

By Stephanie Keith

Demonstrators gathered at Barclays Center Thursday night to protest the killing of Jordan Neely, the unhoused Black man who was apparently in mental distress when he was killed by a white subway rider on the F train on Monday.

Members from the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter and activists from a Bed-Stuy-based mutual aid group, We the People, teamed up for a rally and march over the Manhattan Bridge to the 7th precinct, which is responsible for handling the investigation into Neely’s death. Only Friday was the assailant identified as 24-year-old Daniel Penny, a former Marine who still has not been charged with a crime even though the city’s medical examiner ruled the death a homicide on Wednesday.

Photo by Stephanie Keith

Relly Rebel of We the People has led regular marches calling for police accountability for the last three years. Last night took on added urgency, though, as the gathered demonstrators were furious about the fact that Neely’s murderer has not been charged, furious about the fact that Penny’s name had not yet been released, and furious at the response of Mayor Eric Adams, who had urged patience until a thorough investigation is done.

“I’m going to let the process take its place and those who believe that I should do something differently, I respect that,” Adams said in a press conference. “But I have to make the right decision for the City of New York.”

Photo by Stephanie Keith

Activists have equated Neely’s death to a modern-day lynching, and spray painted as much onto the Manhattan Bridge Thursday night. Protesters there and other observers have been adamant that, had it been a Black man who choked out a white man, the assailant would be in jail already.

Photo by Stephanie Keith

“Racism that continues to permeate throughout our society allows for a level of dehumanization that denies Black people from being recognized as victims when subjected to acts of violence,” City Council speaker Adrienne Adams wrote in a statement.

The murder of Neely, who had apparently been in some kind of mental health crisis, has triggered a spectrum of reactions in a city where fears have been repeatedly (and unfairly) stoked about public safety on the subway. For many, Neely’s death represents a failure by the city to care for people with mental health issues.

Photo by Stephanie Keith

“What kind of standard are you setting when you do that?” Rebel asked a local ABC News affiliate. “Are people gonna be able to start choking out every homeless person?”

Here are a few more images from Thursday night: