Macy's hit as New York imposes curfew amid Floyd protests

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City imposed a late-night curfew Monday that failed to prevent another night of destruction, including arrests after a break-in at the iconic Macy's store on 34th Street, following protests over George Floyd’s death.

As the 11 p.m. deadline to get off the streets approached, bands of protesters marched through Manhattan and Brooklyn, and police simultaneously responded to numerous reports of roving groups of people smashing their way into shops and emptying them of merchandise.

The doors of Macy's flagship Manhattan store were breached, and police pulled two handcuffed men out and put them in a van.

People rushed into a Nike store in Manhattan and carried out armloads of clothing. Near Rockefeller Center, storefront windows were smashed and multiple people arrested. Wreckage littered the inside of an AT&T store.

Video posted on social media showed some protesters arguing with people breaking windows, urging them to stop, but instances of vandalism and smash-and-grab thefts mounted as the night deepened.

“We worked hard to build up the business, and within a second, someone does this,” said the owner of a ransacked Manhattan smoke shop, who identified himself only by the name Harri. “Really bad.”

With an 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, New York joined other cities around the country in imposing such measures after days of unrest. The limit on a city of more than 8 million people comes after months of restrictions on public gatherings already imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But enough mayhem happened before the curfew took effect that Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that it would move up to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

De Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the outbreaks of violence the previous two evenings — which left stores ransacked...