Photos of Philly sidewalks blocked by things that are not ICE protests | Opinion
When Kenney campaigned for mayor, he said that making sure that sidewalks aren't blocked "may be the first thing I tackle when I get [to the mayor's office]" and acknowledged that in other cities "construction's happening all over but you never leave the sidewalk."
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On Thursday, police officers bike-dozed the camp where Occupy ICE supporters — determined to abolish ICE, shutdown the Berks family detention center, and end the criminal justice data sharing between the city and ICE. — had gathered in recent days.
>> READ MORE: Why they risked everything to Occupy ICE | Will Bunch
In a statement later that day a spokesperson for Jim Kenney said that even though the mayor agrees with the protesters, he can't make exceptions, "Protesters have been notified repeatedly that the are free to remain and protest at the premises, as long as they do not block the building egress."
Hold up. Kenney shut down a protest that he agrees with because of blocked sidewalks?!
When Kenney campaigned for mayor, he said that making sure that sidewalks aren't blocked "may be the first thing I tackle when I get [to the mayor's office]" and acknowledged that in other cities "construction's happening all over but you never leave the sidewalk."
>> READ MORE: Changing Skyline: Kenney crusade to keep sidewalks open continues on Facebook
Indeed blocked sidewalks are not a new problem. Heck, there is a whole Twitter account dedicated to the issue!
On Friday morning, the protest moved from outside the ICE office to the east side of City Hall and the future of the Occupy ICE encampment is unknown. As protesting continues, we've rounded up some photos of the parked cars, construction fences, and other obstacles that block sidewalks around Philadelphia today.