UPDATED: March 25, 2018 at 11:01 p.m.

The doors of the MTA 1 train in New York City struggled to close again and again Saturday morning as protesters, some of them young children, packed onto the subway with signs.

They were heading to Central Park West, where city residents were set to join thousands of others in hosting sibling March for Our Lives protests, in conjunction with a central protest in Washington, D.C. to rally against gun violence after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 people dead in mid-February.

Toddlers were carried on their fathers’ shoulders on the walk to 72nd Street, where the march started. Some children were pushed in strollers, while others carried their own signs and marched alongside their families as New York Police Department officers redirected foot traffic up to 77th Street.

As several streets along the route of the march were closed to car traffic, protesters were abandoning the heavily crowded sidewalks and spilling into roads. Some cars honked.

One girl held a sign half as large as herself that read: “One child is worth more than all the guns in the world.” Another young protester wrote, “We call B.S.” on her sign, referencing the popular quote by Emma González, a Stoneman Douglas student.

The lineup of speeches featured survivors of gun violence across different tragedies. Attendees heard from survivors of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas, Las Vegas late last year and Sandy Hook. Chicago advocates for gun legislation and a daughter of a 9/11 victim also spoke.

Multiple people in the crowd audibly choked up as a Parkland teenager started to cry during her speech. Mary Ann Jacob, who was a librarian at Sandy Hook during the shooting, also delivered a speech focusing on the broader effects of gun violence.

“Families across the country are torn apart by guns that are used in suicide, domestic violence incidents and in city violence,” Jacob said. “I march for my children, I march for your children, and I march for all of our lives.”

Anna Bourne, who attended the march with her two children, said she thought more action would be taken after the Newtown shooting that Jacob survived in 2012.  She said she feels it’s best to be honest with her children about current events.

Along with children, parents were also out to make a statement.

“I’m marching because I’m angry. I’m angry that my kids have to do six lockdowns at school every day,” said Susan Phuvasitkul, who attended the march with her children — one kindergartener and one preschooler. “I want them to witness that people care.”

More than 15,000 people on Facebook planned to attend March for Our Lives in NYC. The crowd was massive enough to prompt police to release protesters into the march incrementally. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, in a tweet, said 175,000 people attended the rally.

A few protesters directly behind the barricade began to shout, “Let us march!” In an attempt to avoid conflict, police quickly did so.

Among those waiting to move was Rabbi David Levy, who worked at Syracuse University’s Hillel from 2004 to 2006, he said. Levy’s two sons were also at the march.

“It was really important to come out here because, as adults, we’ve really failed our kids when it comes to safety in schools,” Levy said. “We should’ve been leading them, but today we’re following them.”

His 12-year-old son, Jared, a Syracuse native, said he doesn’t feel the safety drills he does in school do enough to provide protection in an active shooter situation.

Eventually, the march moved freely south toward Columbus Circle. Standing by the side of the march was Tom Bradley, who wore an orange SU cap.

He said he had two grandsons, one a freshman and one a junior, currently attending SU.

“I taught school for 40 years, so I’m a big advocate for young people,” Bradley said.

The atmosphere took a turn as the march approached Trump International Hotel and Tower. There was loud booing, heavier security and chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

A small number of protesters, in support of President Trump, were also present behind a barricade and police presence at Columbus Circle. Protesters on both sides repeatedly traded the same barb: “Shame, shame!”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the number of people killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was misstated. Seventeen people were killed. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 24, 2018 at 5:13 pm

Contact Mary: mdcatalf@syr.edu | @mrycatalfamo