New York City began painting a Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower on Thursday.
“The city closed off Fifth Avenue from 56th to 57th streets early Thursday as the work got underway,” a report from NBC New York noted. Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to take part in the effort personally.
“A police official said that the street could be closed for a number of days to complete the project,” the article continued, adding that it was one of five to be painted in each of the city’s borough’s.
President Donald Trump criticized de Blasio on July 1 for cutting the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) budget and spending money on the mural.
“This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the horrible BLM chant, ‘Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon,'” he wrote in a subsequent tweet.
“Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!” he continued.
Last week, The View co-host Joy Behar claimed what really defaced Fifth Avenue was the “gaudy, hideous, gold-infested monument to his massive ego,” in reference to Trump Tower.
“In my opinion, the Black Lives Matter symbol only improves the neighborhood. That’s how I see it, and by the way, when he says something about, it’s a symbol of hate, the only hate is directed at him. That’s it. That’s where the hate is going right now,” she added.
On May 30, the Black Lives Matter organization called for “an end to the systemic racism that allows this culture of corruption to go unchecked and our lives to be taken,” its website read.
“We call for a national defunding of police. We demand investment in our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive, but thrive,” the site continued.
In a June 29 tweet, the organization shared an infographic detailing its plan to defund the police: