Nothing can tell the story of homeless encampment sweeps more accurately than Anarchy Row on May 4.
Surrounded by a legion of NYPD officers, homeless East Village locals Sinithia Veev and Johnny Grima ended their stand against encampment sweeps in vastly different circumstances but were left just as emotionally damaged.
Knowing their makeshift home on East 9th Street and Avenue B was about to be destroyed thanks to a notice posted by the city, the undomiciled people there and supporters attempted to prevent the sweep by barricading themselves in. Several individuals constructed a spider web of tape around the tent site before reinforcing it with wooden pallets.