Nearly two dozen people were cuffed by late Monday morning as climate protesters blockaded Citi Headquarters in Lower Manhattan, police said.
A group of 150 activists crowded in front of the financial giant’s building on Greenwich Street near North Moore Street in Tribeca during the morning rush, organizers said.
Twenty-three people were taken into custody during the first of a series of planned protests that organizers are calling the Summer of Heat on Wall Street, according to an early NYPD count.
The charges were not immediately known.
“Planet over profit!” the group bellowed as officers began to arrest some of the participants.
“They’ve arrested dozens of us today because we’re out here for the kickoff to Summer of Heat,” one man said on a video posted to an X account called “Planet Over Profit.” “CitiBank is funding … hundreds of billions of dollars to the fossil fuel industry, while putting all of our lives at risk.”
“So people are taking arrest over and over throughout the summer to let CitiBank know and to let Wall Street know they can’t keep funding and financing destruction and death across the globe.”
Citi’s most recent Climate report, claimed that the company funded about $10.4 billion to the energy sector, with about 4 billion going toward oil and gas production in 2022.
“While we respect the right to protest peacefully, activists do not have the right to prevent people from entering and exiting our building,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Citi welcomes continued engagement with our stakeholders and we are transparent about our climate-related activities.
“We are supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy through our net zero commitments and our $1 trillion sustainable finance goal. Our approach reflects the need to transition while also continuing to meet global energy needs.”
Monday’s protest began the “Summer of Heat on Wall Street,” which organizers describe as “a months-long campaign of relentless and disruptive protests to end Wall Street funding for oil, coal, and gas,” according to a media alert.
Demonstrators plan to return to the Greenwich Street skyscraper on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
During Tuesday’s protest, more than 100 protesters dressed in orca costumes plan to blockade Citi Headquarters.
The groups Climate Defenders, Planet over Profit, New York Communities for Change, and Stop the Money Pipeline are taking part in the “Summer of Heat.”
