From the Halls to the Shores

The chaos began in the midst of rush hour, as commuters tried to make their way home and security around Madison Square Garden tightened for convention speeches by first lady Laura Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The disorder took place on a day that anarchist groups had marked for civil disobedience.

At Bryant Park, tensions erupted at 6 p.m. when a dispute over a banner sparked rough-and-tumble verbal and physical encounters between marchers and police on and around the steps of the public library.

Meanwhile, at Ground Zero, a controversial police dragnet at Church and Vesey streets swept up 200 marchers minutes after about 500 of them left on their way to a "die-in."

As police sirens blared into the night, marchers moved to Herald Square where a series of running encounters took place. Police closed Broadway. The sidewalks were overwhelmed.

"They aren't letting me go this way, they're not letting me go that way," said Joyce Breach, 60, of the East Village, after shopping at Macy's. "I wish the police treated tax-paying New Yorkers with as much consideration as they have for these Republicans."

"This is definitely a little nerve-wracking," said tourist Kimberly King, 40, of Marina Del Rey, Calif. "It seems like we're at a delicate balance between peace and passion and at any moment, the scene could go bad."

They relented on the arrest plan at 7 p.m., as people began to move to Herald Square. Six people blocked 42nd Street. Police rushed them with scooters, tackled them and loaded them into a van.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly blamed the Ground Zero arrests on march organizers "reneging on an agreement not to block traffic" and "failing to walk on sidewalk instead of street."

But many detainees told reporters they were not aware of the rules. "They said as long as you observe the red lights, it shouldn't be a problem," said Bob Curley, who was arrested with his son. "Then we walked off the sidewalk and across the street and that was the end."

Police filled five busloads of detainees as people screamed, "Arrest George Bush." "We are fighting against our own people, we have our own people against us," said Stephanie Lobello, 21, a tattoo artist from Flushing. "There is no freedom in this country."

One officer who was listening said, "We're following orders."

At the Hummer offices at 11th Avenue and 56th Street, 40 officers looked on as a lone protester, Georgi Page, 34, a Web producer from Harlem, marched resolutely in a Hummer costume made from a cardboard box. "I thought there would be a lot more people here," acknowledged Page.

Her lonely protest lasted 20 minutes before she was asked to leave by a police officer. "I'm not going to be arrested," Page said. "I'm not obstructing traffic. I'm legally protesting."