At the very least 4 activists had been arrested exterior the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York Metropolis on Wednesday morning, September 17, whereas forming a blockade in protest of two tenants they are saying are profiteering from Israel’s violence in opposition to Palestinians.
Tucked within the Brooklyn Navy Yard advanced (BNY), a bunch of city-owned buildings the place tenants pay no actual property taxes, the surveillance drone producer Straightforward Aerial is listed as a “Effective Artwork/Pictures” enterprise. The corporate has ties to each the Israeli navy and the US Division of Homeland Safety. Not distant, Crye Precision, a textile producer that has allegedly equipped attire for the Israeli navy — a declare the corporate denies — carries the label “Trend/Equipment” on the BNY’s web site.
During the last yr, activists, neighborhood members, and, most not too long ago, one state senator have referred to as upon the BNY to evict Straightforward Aerial and Crye Precision. Right this moment, throughout a board assembly held by the nonprofit growth company that oversees the BNY, dozens of demonstrators of all ages fashioned a circle in entrance of the property, holding protest indicators accusing the 2 firms of supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as characterised by a United Nations fee on Monday.
Whereas a bunch of organizers led a press convention, demonstrators fashioned a blockade at an entrance to the yard’s Constructing 77. When Hyperallergic arrived, 4 people had been being zip-tied and loaded right into a New York Police Division (NYPD) van, the place protesters stood face-to-face with law enforcement officials.
Activists later posted a video of an extra protester being tackled by the NYPD and claimed {that a} press photographer was “severely assaulted” by somebody affiliated with the BNY.
NYPD declined to touch upon the variety of arrests, however mentioned that 10 folks chained themselves to a fence. No prices have been filed in opposition to the alleged assailant, based on the NYPD. A BNY spokesperson mentioned that the person accountable was arrested and that their entry to the property has been revoked.
On BNY’s web site, 63 companies are categorized as “Effective Artwork/Pictures,” nearly all of that are reputable galleries and artists’ studios. The Pratt Institute, as an illustration, operates a 20,000-square-foot analysis campus for digital archaeology, robotics, and different disciplines inside the BNY.
In response to Hyperallergic’s inquiries relating to the protesters’ calls for, a consultant for BNY mentioned that its web site “broadly categorizes tenants primarily based on what they produce,” noting that Straightforward Aerial “manufactures a drone-mounted digital camera” and that Crye produces various kinds of clothes, together with surgical robes.
“Leases are binding authorized agreements. Evictions solely happen when tenants violate the phrases of such agreements and have to be accredited by a legitimate court docket order,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Lease phrases give attention to monetary obligations (i.e., hire), obligations as to compliance with legal guidelines, permitted makes use of, upkeep of premises, and many others., however don’t regulate explicit enterprise actions nor their selection of shoppers.”
Maisha Morales, a neighborhood advocate concerned in native politics who resides in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, informed Hyperallergic at right this moment’s protest that the classification of Straightforward Aerial as a “superb artwork” enterprise was “an insult to our intelligence.”
“How dare you? This isn’t superb arts,” Morales mentioned.
Morales, who mentioned she has beforehand testified earlier than the event company board in assist of evicting the 2 firms, opined that their tenancy betrays her perceived mission of the BNY as offering alternatives for working-class New Yorkers. As a result of the BNY is a Certified Alternative Zone, companies could also be eligible to defer taxes on capital good points by way of 2026.
“I can’t management what occurs with my federal tax {dollars}, proper? However I can management what occurs with my native tax {dollars},” Morales mentioned.
For weeks, Hyperallergic has adopted members of the group Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard, a coalition of activists and neighborhood members demanding that the public-owned constructing evict Straightforward Aerial and Crye Precision. The group gathers on the BNY for normal demonstrations, blaring horns and chanting into megaphones throughout rush hour visitors on Flushing Avenue.
Straightforward Aerial, headquartered within the yard’s Constructing 77, manufactures military-grade autonomous surveillance drones which, based on the corporate’s promotional supplies, have been deployed at Israeli border posts. In a June 2021 promotional video, a commander within the Israeli navy’s “Gaza Division” defined how she makes use of Straightforward Aerial’s drone to coordinate with snipers on the bottom to “hearth.” The corporate has collaborated with Elbit Methods, Israel’s largest protection agency.
In accordance with the Wall Avenue Journal, the corporate has additionally bought drones which have been utilized in Tzur Hadassah, which borders the Occupied West Financial institution, to surveil “intruders from a neighboring Palestinian village.”
On the primary anniversary of October 7 in 2024, Straightforward Aerial mentioned on LinkedIn that it was “proud to have performed a job in supporting Israel’s protection forces” and that its applied sciences had enhanced the “surveillance, safety, and support” of Israeli communities.
The US Division of Homeland Safety has additionally funded the drone producer by way of an Israel-US program. This summer time, the company forecasted a $1–2 million contract between the US Border Patrol and Straightforward Aerial for “inhibiting menace migration.”
Straightforward Aerial has not but responded to a number of requests for remark, however has beforehand characterised its merchandise as defensive and has claimed that protesters are misguided.
Crye Precision was based in 2000 by Cooper Union alumni Caleb Crye and Gregg Thompson. In an announcement to Hyperallergic, a consultant for the corporate denied having any contracts with Israeli producers or the navy and referred to as the Brooklyn activists’ claims “false and deceptive.” Federal court docket paperwork filed by an legal professional on behalf of the corporate for an unrelated matter in 2023, nevertheless, contained an admission that the corporate’s copyrighted camouflage design was “adopted to be used by all or parts of the armed forces” of nations together with Israel and the US. Crye denied that the assertion within the federal court docket submitting was true and couldn’t “account for why it’s in that textual content.”
Crye Precision’s web site additionally lists Agilite, a producer of tactical gear for the Israeli navy, as one of many firms that licenses its MultiCam® camouflage sample.
“Crye Precision doesn’t promote weapons or drones, nor do now we have any contracts with the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) or any Israeli producers,” the spokesperson mentioned.
New York State Senator Jabari Brisport, who represents the twenty fifth District, the place the BNY is positioned, attended the press convention in assist of the activists this morning.
Brisport informed Hyperallergic that he’s seen an “openness” amongst BNY management to vary the “Effective Artwork” and “Trend” designations of the companies, however that his final purpose is eviction.
“We’ve got two companies right here which might be complicit within the genocide,” Brisport informed Hyperallergic. “That is one thing we will do domestically and plug into, particularly at a time when folks really feel like their nationwide leaders usually are not listening to them in any respect on Israel.”
Activists deliberate to enter public remark within the assembly right this moment; nevertheless, on Tuesday evening, BNY Improvement Company Lindsay Greene informed activists in an e mail reviewed by Hyperallergic that there could be no public feedback allowed.
When members of the press and organizers arrived on the yard this morning, credentialed reporters had been denied entry to the Constructing 92 courtyard, the place the assembly was occurring inside. A spokesperson for BNY informed Hyperallergic that the constructing courtyard was closed for “safety causes.”
Exterior the gates, one protester held a toddler of their arms.
“At this second, there are infants like my child, like this child proper right here, the identical precise dimension, who’re being blown up,” the protester informed a crowd of reporters. “They don’t need to be accountable to the infants and youngsters of Gaza, and so they don’t need to be accountable to the Black and Brown households in New York Metropolis.”
