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From the Open-Publishing Calendar From the Open-Publishing Newswire Indybay Feature Related Categories: Santa Cruz Indymedia | Global Justice and Anti-Capitalism
Graffiti and Broken Windows on Pacific Avenue
On the night of Saturday, May 1st, Occupy California provided breaking news coverage of an event that began as a large dance party at the clock tower in downtown Santa Cruz, roved through the streets, and eventually morphed into a small number of people breaking storefront windows, mostly at corporate chain stores, though not exclusively.
I was not at any portion of the event on Saturday, so I do not have photos from that night. The following photos were taken in the late morning of Sunday, May 2nd, as the graffiti and broken glass were being removed.  These articles, listed for reference, discuss the situation further.
Dance Party Ends in Window-Breaking and Police Clearing Pacific Avenue 20 Minutes Later by Robert Norse http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/02/18646441.php video-Santa Cruz Riot of May 2010 by Prescott http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/02/18646532.php#18646541 Street Party Turns Violent – Santa Cruz Riot of May 2010 http://presky.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/santacruzriotmay1/ ** For background information, the following article is being reposted from Occupy California: May Day party gets underway in Santa Cruz http://occupyca.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/may-day-party-gets-underway-in-santa-cruz/ SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – A dance party to celebrate International Workers’ Day in Santa Cruz morphed into a black bloc as it traveled through different parts of downtown with hundreds of participants and observers. As the crowd swelled to over 350, torches and flares were lit. The crowd zig-zagged through different side streets, eventually ending back on the main street downtown (Pacific Ave). As the crowd marched back to the clock tower, windows of corporate chains and bourgeois shops were smashed. Police presence was scarce; early on, one police car drove into the crowd to disperse it. Instead of leaving, the dancers stepped around the police car and threw paint on it. Only after the crowd voluntarily dispersed did any police appear. 10:35pm: A torch mob of about 300 people is headed down Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, with hundreds of observers following. More info to come. 11:00pm: Graffiti: “Brick by brick we will bring it down”; “Destruction is the New Pink”; “Destroy the Destroyers” and others. 11:15pm: Several expensive “hipster” stores, corporate chain stores, and bourgeois shops that cater to tourists had their windows smashed. 11:20pm: It’s scattering, with only 2 cop cars nearby.      I'm not sure if there was any graffiti here or not...
     Why don't politicians clean this shit up?
            This person, who I do not know, made more than one effort to photograph me. This was after he inquired about me taking photographs of the graffiti and broken windows. I confirmed to him that I was taking photos of the damage, and asked him who he was taking photos for. He said for himself as he was trying to take a photo of me, but I went in the other direction. The first time was at the corner of Pacific and Locust. This second time, shown in the photo above, we were on the sidewalk of Pacific Avenue.
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