Protesters Headed Back To Homes Of Hamptons' Billionaires

EAST HAMPTON, NY — For the second time in recent weeks, a group of activists is taking a protest against billionaires to their front doors in the Hamptons.

The "Make Billionaires Pay — Cancel Cuomo's Cuts" rally will take place Thursday, with a caravan expected to arrive from New York in East Hampton at the Hook Windmill at noon; protesters will gather and deliver remarks. Next, they are expected to protest at the homes of billionaires in East Hampton and Southampton.

Members of the group are expected to carry inflatable "pitch forks" from the Halloween story and carry signs as they rally.

“Governor Cuomo is slashing funding for working New Yorkers as we speak — and warning that more cuts will come down the line if the federal government doesn’t step in. But we know the truth: Trump and McConnell aren’t going to save us. The governor is just pointing fingers at the federal government so no one notices he’s in the driver’s seat,” said Alicé Nascimento, director of policy and research, New York Communities for Change. “The governor has a choice: he can either cut funding from students, nurses, seniors and working families who keep our city running — or he can tax the rich. And he keeps choosing cuts over taxes — because he’d rather protect his wealthy billionaire donors than protect working New Yorkers."

A month ago, social justice organizations participated in the Hamptons Billionaires Car Caravan Protest.

The event will include groups including the New York Communities for Change, the Long Island Progressive Coalition, the Alliance for Quality Education of New York, Voices of Community Activists & Leaders, Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, Long Island Activists, and others.

According to those protesting, data from the Public Accountability Initiative said that during the pandemic, the net worth of New York's 118 billionaires increased by $44.9 billion, or 8.6 percent, from March 18 to May 15. At the same time, the data said, more than two million are unemployed, with individuals from black and brown communities "suffering the most," and facing disproportionate health impacts due to the virus.