http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0429-01.htmPublished on Thursday, April 29, 2004 by the Associated Press
NYC Denies Permit for Huge Anti-War Rally During GOP Convention
by Sara Kugler
NEW YORK -- An anti-war group planning a massive demonstration at the start of the Republican National Convention in Manhattan has been denied a permit to rally in Central Park because the crowd would be too large.
The parks department denied the request by United for Peace and Justice organizers, who applied last June for a permit to rally in the park's Great Lawn after marching from 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue. The march permit request, submitted separately to the police department, is pending.
The anti-war group was preparing an appeal, which is part of the parks permit process, group leader Leslie Cagan said Wednesday.
"Now we just have to do another piece of organizing, to put pressure on the city to change their mind," Cagan said. "We take on issues like war and nuclear disarmament, so we have to keep a parks permit in perspective."
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Giuliani Hosts Pope John Paul II in Central Park
Hundreds of thousands attend Mass in Central Park, October 7, 1995. ( Photo/NYC Mayors office)