Grand Central Terminal officials will not try to stop “die-in” protests in one of the world’s busiest train stations, a spokesman said on Monday, after a string of evenings in which dozens of people lay on the floor to protest against police killings of African Americans and other minorities.
“We recognize, of course, Grand Central is public space, open to everybody,” said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the Metro Transit Authority. “None of the protests that have taken place so far have prevented our railroad customers from using the train station at the terminal for its primary purpose, which is getting to the trains.”
The Grand Central die-ins are part of a national wave of such protests in response to two grand jury decisions within two weeks not to indict white police officers for the deaths of black men.
A St Louis County grand jury declined last month to charge officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and last week a grand jury decided not to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who in July used a chokehold later blamed for the death of Staten Island man Eric Garner.
“We have no plans to change our policing strategies for Grand Central,” said Donovan.
Grand Central Terminal is owned by the limited liability company Midtown Trackage Ventures, which is part of Argent Ventures. The group directed queries about the station to the MTA, which has a long-term lease on the space, where it operates subways and Metro North commuter trains.
