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| The scene outside 622 West 114th Street between Broadway and Riverside Drive, May 17, 1968, shortly before the police arrived and arrested the people inside |
More protesting Columbia and Barnard students were arrested and/or injured by New York City police during a second round of protests May 17–22, 1968, when community residents occupied a Columbia University-owned partially vacant apartment building at 618 West 114 Street to protest Columbia's expansion policies, and later when students re-occupied Hamilton Hall to protest Columbia's suspension of "The IDA Six." Before the night of May 22, 1968 was over, police had arrested another 177 students and beaten 51 students.
Thomas William Hamilton recalls (January 3, 2018):
The May arrests at the Columbia owned building at 618 West 114 Street does not mention that only 113 of the 117 people arrested were actually in 618. Four of us were in the lobby of 622 W 114, not owned by Columbia. Two lived in 622, Mai Ling Rogoff (a pre med student at Columbia), and myself, a 1960 Columbia alumnus. The other two were Mai Ling's boy friend (name long forgotten by me), and a classmate of mine, Jay Russek.
A police sergeant (Last name Healy) opened the lobby door during the police invasion of 618 and screamed "Stay inside." Stupid me replied "We are inside." I saw his face flush and he grabbed Mai Ling and Jay, who were in front of me, pushed them out the door, and grabbed me. At some point the boy friend went also.
We were all charged with trespassing in 618. In court some CU creep testified yes, CU owns 618, and no, CU did not authorize our presence there. As he let the witness stand he had to walk by me, and I said in a low tone "Filthy liar." No one but my fellow criminal, Sam Melville, and the creep heard me, so when he screamed "What! What did you say?" his reaction seemed totally unmotivated. The judge stared, and the assistant D.A. rushed over and tried to calm him down, finally escorting him from the room. Melville kept a poker face, but nudged me.
This was, according to a contemporary source, "a completely rundown tenement that the owner was trying to sell with completely decayed original galvanized plumbing and rotten beams and missing plaster from all the leaks, and had been brutally pushing out the tenants and was down to i think three... my mind is a bit fuzzy about the explicit details, whether cu had already signed the contract to buy or had already taken title to demolish or what. unlike the basically same building at 627 w 115 (the only other such 25 foot walkup tenement around here), which cu salvaged and put to use as staff housing, this was too far gone economically to salvage."
On the fire escape, upper right, crouched over his equipment and wearing a headband: Melvin Morgulis, who shot much of the Columbia Revolts footage.
Sources:
Columbia University, 1968, Frank da Cruz
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