Riverdale residents join nationwide 'No Kings' protests against Trump policies

Riverdale residents joined millions of others nationwide March 28 in the third No Kings protest, a series of demonstrations against President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.

Locals took to Lou Gehrig Plaza on East 161st Street, the Henry Hudson Bridge and Midtown Manhattan to make their voices heard — primarily in opposition to aggressive measures by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, unwanted U.S. military action in Iran and what protesters feel is an erosion of democracy.

No Kings is organized by a coalition of more than 300 organizations against what are described by demonstrators as authoritarian actions. The first of the widespread protests were in June 2025, with over five million participants nationwide according to estimates from the American Civil Liberties Union, and at least 20 from Riverdale. The second wave, in October 2025,  brought seven million Americans to the streets, according to ACLU estimates, and more than 600 Riverdalians at Seton Park, according to the New York Police Department.

In the South Bronx, members of the grassroots group Northwest Bronx Indivisible raised  homemade signs that read “Defend democracy” and “We don’t do kings in the Bronx” while echoing chants, bundled up against the cool weather.

Member Judy Fletcher is also a part of NYCD16/15 Indivisible, a group that promotes civic engagement in Congressional Districts 15 and 16. This is her third No Kings protest, and Fletcher said each has been bigger than the last.

“People have grown increasingly confident,” she said. “Each protest has led to more activism, more organization and more resolve.”

At 75 years old, Fletcher said Trump’s policies are beyond her “sense of reality.” Ultimately, she wants Americans to take part in a general strike, which is a large-scale work stoppage to pressure a government into change. But her hope now is that Democrats secure a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives ahead of midterm elections.

Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz took a similar stance at the Lou Gehrig Plaza rally. He told The Press it’s important to stand together with those that are outraged, but voting to flip Republican-held seats in New York is the only way to make substantial change.

“We are really in a dangerous, unprecedented time,” Dinowitz said. “The only way to remove that danger is by winning elections.”

Seventy-eight-year-old Merritt Claude, who is on the aging committee of Bronx Community Board 8 and has been a member of the local political organization Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club since 2007, said she was motivated to come out and protest because of Trump’s criticism of mail-in voting and proposals to restrict it.

Claude uses a rollator walker, as well as Access-A-Ride services to get around as it is difficult for her to use the subway and buses. She said she is also considered handicapped. Still, Claude says she goes in person to vote, but there could come a time where she is physically unable.

“How many elderly people do you know or people who have small babies who are going to get up and go on a bus to go vote?” Claude said.

Northwest Bronx Indivisible member Silvia Blumenfeld is set on targeting Congress too, but by demanding elected officials push back against the administration.

“Nothing changes if we don’t take to the streets,” she said. “When [Congress members] see the grassroots energized and demonstrating, they respond.”

State Sen. Gustavo Rivera is focused on ICE, he told The Press after the Lou Gehrig rally. He said it’s critical to share with constituents specific ways they can protect themselves and others, such as through pamphlets that describe the rights a person has if approached by ICE agents, or SALUTE cards — used to document size, activity, location, uniform, time and equipment during encounters or sightings of ICE agents.

Members of the Unity Democratic Club, a local political organization created in 2022, were also present at  Lou Gehrig Plaza. Don Bluestone, chair of the education and programming committee, said it was time to expand No Kings protests past Riverdale. The Bronx goes unheard when policy decisions are under consideration, he said. 

Marcelo Lopez, president of the Unity Democratic Club, went to the Midtown Manhattan protest, where he was at the front of the march behind a yellow banner that read “People over billionaires.” He said disinvestment at the federal level, such as Medicaid cuts, disproportionately impacts the Bronx.

According to the New York State Department of Health, 890,003 Bronxites — about 54 percent — are enrolled in Medicaid.

At the Midtown rally, Lopez said the spirit of those in attendance wasn’t self-pity, but clarity and determination. A self-described avid history reader, he added the past shows constituents can see their demands met if they choose to fight for it.

“Our eyes are open,” Lopez said. “We know what we want from our government.”