New York extends curfew after looters ransack famous stores

LOOTERS defied a curfew and ransacked iconic Manhattan shops overnight, leading officials on Tuesday to extend New York City’s curfew for the rest of the week.

Videos posted online showed people rushing into a boarded-up entrance of Macy’s, one of the world’s most famous department stores, and luxury retailers along Fifth Avenue, leaving behind shattered storefronts on streets symbolic of the city’s wealth.

Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged the 11 pm curfew had failed to quell the criminal violence, and announced that the 8 pm curfew starting on Tuesday will stay in place through Sunday.

He said protests were “overwhelmingly peaceful,” but that “we’re going to fight” the widespread break-ins.

“When people come to a swath of midtown Manhattan to attack luxury stores, that does not represent the values of New York City. We won’t accept that, it doesn’t speak for us and therefore we will stop it,” he told a press conference.

The mayor also condemned “vicious attacks on police officers,” including an officer being hit by a car in the Bronx, where looting also erupted.

Nearly 700 people were arrested overnight, according to the city’s police commissioner Dermot Shea, by far the biggest number since the protests started.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo blasted the city’s response as a “disgrace” and accused the mayor and the police department of failing to protect the community and property.

“I think the mayor underestimated the scope of the problem,” Cuomo told a news conference. “I think he underestimated the duration of the problem. I do not believe they have used enough police.”