December 19, 2022 – MANHATTAN, New York: Anti-Drag Story Hour Protesters, marched through the office building of Erik Bottcher, stating its in an attempt to speak with the council member, whose office was closed at the time.
The protesters arrived at the council member’s office on West 30th Street in Manhattan at around 2:30pm, and some of the group knocked on his door while shouting, others wrote in chalk the word, “Bittcher” on walls inside of the building and asphalt near the buildings front door.
“the words written on the walls are sorta childish, I mean that’s what someone called me in middle school” – NYC Council member spoke about walls defaced outside of his office.
This attempted confrontation was part of ongoing protests against “Drag Story Hour” events that are happening across the country. Today, the group of protesters headed to Bottcher’s office following a protest they held outside of Heiskell Public Library in Chelsea on December 17th, when the Bottcher spoke up against the disruption of Drag Story Hour.
“We will not be cowed. We will not be silenced. We will continue to stand up against hate”, tweeted councilman.
“People banging on the door, trying to get in – it was, the staff is a little rattled by this” – Council member Erik Bottcher spoke after arriving at his office.
Police arrived on the scene and Eric Bottcher spoke in an interview, saying that he hasn’t been called that insult since middle school and that his staff was left shaken.
According to NYC Council Member @ebottcher, after a protest outside of his office that left walls defaced with “Bittcher” written across, some of the protesters then went to his apartment building and gained entry. Two of them were arrested.
Video posted by Council Member the next morning appears to show one of the protesters outside of NYC Council member’s home last night attacking a person.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement “Erik, you stand up for our city every single day and these cowardly bigots have no place here.”
According to police, two women, 44-year-old and 27-year-old, were arrested after being found inside the Councilman home building.
Drag Story Hour are children’s events first started in 2015 by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco with the goals of promoting reading and diversity. The events, usually geared for children aged 3–11, are hosted by drag queens who read children’s books, and engage in other learning activities in public libraries.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The word storming, in relation to the office building, was changed to marching, to specify the absence of forceful entry into the office building.
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