An autonomous zone was set up in White Plains and a group made several demands, including stripping funds from the police.        

Autonomous zones are where protesters have declared the area free from the rules and laws of government and police. This site was set up between Chatteron and Robertson avenues in the Battle Hill section. They have been set up in Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Manhattan in the past several weeks.

The group that put this together is The Lower Hudson Democratic Socialists.

They want White Plains city leaders to strip funds from the White Plains Police Department, specifically the $1 million increase given to police patrol.

The group says it wants that money to be given to those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic by canceling rents that are in default. 

The protesters also want the city to invest in the Department of Public Works to build a community garden in the Battle Hill area.

Neighbors who live in Battle Hill tell News 12 they are frustrated. They say the protesters are negatively impacting their way of life.

Carlos Torre, who lives around the corner from the autonomous zone, says the protesters have been there since the Fourth of July. 

"They put their stuff all over a park that is not theirs, we're actually from the community we use this park regularly, people walk their dogs, we aware of the activity..I've never seen these guys before," he says.

On Wednesday afternoon, the city evicted the protesters from the field. 

"If they want to protest, they should go protest where there is some problem, we don't really have many problems on this block, we are a very harmonious diverse community," says Torre.

 

 

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