Pat Dollard

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New York Times:

When Michelle Rodriguez said she was surprised how few protesters showed up at the Broadway Junction subway station in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Thursday afternoon, a demonstrator beside her offered an explanation.

“This isn’t exactly the most glamorous part of New York nor the most accessible,” said Rosalie Harman, a middle aged Canarsie resident, “but this is the community that needs to hear it.”

Broadway Junction was one of 16 stations on Occupy Wall Street’s afternoon itinerary during its “Day of Action.”

At 3 p.m. on the platform, five protesters handed out fliers to a bustling, seemingly uninterested crowd. Upstairs, a larger group used the movement’s signature call-and-repeat “People’s Mic” technique to tell travelers who they were and why they were there. A number of curious passersby paused to watch, including a few giggling teenage girls who sang along.

Jesus Verde, 25, of Bushwick, who held a child in his arms, said he wished he could join the protesters. “I would do it, but I have to be with my baby all the time,” he said.

Charles Garment, a forensic coordinator for Brooklyn mental health court, said that he, too, would like to protest, but that he couldn’t “take a chance with going to jail.”

But a recent St Louis transplant, Lindsey Leonard, groaned at the protesters’ cheers as they boarded the train to Manhattan.

“They claim they’re the 99 percent, but I’m the 51 percent that works three jobs,” she said. “I didn’t move to this town to protest.”

Outside another station, the 23rd Street stop on the C train in Chelsea, a lone woman held an “occupy all streets” sign outside as straphangers walked by.

The Guardian reported that on a train bound for Times Square, about a dozen demonstrators told their stories to fellow passengers. One described her work in low-income communities where people lack access to healthy food options. Another spoke of how he had to move in with his parents because he could not find a job.