Konstanty Siemaszko/New York Daily News
AIDS demonstration at Broadway and Wall St.
Nine AIDS activists were arrested Wednesday after they stretched a chain across Broadway at Wall St. and forced traffic to a halt.
The ACT-UP demonstrators managed to hook the chain to light posts under the noses of cops patrolling the key intersection.
Hey, you cant do that, one officer said as a protester clicked the padlock shut and plopped himself down on Broadway.
Holding up signs that read Tax Wall St., E nd Aids, the chanting demonstrators then refused to move.
Minutes later, a police officer arrived with a bolt-cutter and snipped the chain while other cops picked up the protesters and placed them in police vans.
Hey, these are people here, one demonstrator yelled as cops stood him up.
We know, an officer replied.
The AIDS activists were taken to the nearby Seventh Precinct stationhouse for processing. Charges against them were pending.
ACT-UP wants the government to tax market trades by investment banks, hedge funds and other financial outfits to fund universal health care.
Before they blocked Broadway, the AIDS activists met up with Occupy Wall Street supporters at City Hall to rally for what they call a Financial Speculative Tax.
They contend the funds generated by such a tax would help treat HIV-positive people and those who are uninsured and that it would register as barely a blip on the bottom line of most Wall St reet firms.
csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
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