Extinction Rebellion NYC is a radical environmentalist climate protest organization that conducts public disruptions in New York City. The group was inspired by similar public disturbances and vandalism protests in the United Kingdom in 2018 that were conducted under the name “Extinction Rebellion” and started conducting similar activities as Extinction Rebellion NYC in 2019. The group’s actions are aimed at bringing about its climate policy “demands,” the main one being the elimination of the use of conventional “fossil fuels” by 2025. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Extinction Rebellion (often stylized as “XR”) was created in the United Kingdom in mid-2018 as a campaign of the Rising Up activist group. Rising Up is a network of individuals that includes members of Earth First! (a radical environmentalist organization) and the “Occupy” movement, the international protest movement that sprang from the American far-left Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. ⁴

XR’s behavior is aimed at forcing adherence to several demands. The first demand is that governments must declare a “climate emergency” and promote that message. The second demand is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2025. The final demand is the creation of a “citizen’s assembly” for “climate and ecological justice,” namely a group of citizens selected in a fashion similar to what is used for a jury who would craft the plan to implement the second demand and pass it along to government representatives for approval. ⁵

Extinction Rebellion has also opposed the use of zero-carbon-emissions nuclear energy. ⁶

The group first obtained recognition for a series of public disturbances and vandalism incidents in London including incidents that saw hundreds of police officers deployed, resulting in over 1,100 arrests during the group’s self-proclaimed “summer uprising” in 2019. ⁷

In 2019, Extinction Rebellion reported having 331 chapters active in 49 nations. This included a significant Washington, D.C. chapter. ⁸

Activities

Extinction Rebellion NYC emerged in 2019 while large Extinction Rebellion protests were underway in the United Kingdom. Simultaneous with then-ongoing XR disruption in London in April 2019, an NBC-TV affiliate in New York City reported that 300 XR protesters “swarmed” New York City Hall on April 17. However, according to the report, the New York Police Department “moved in quickly after protestors blocked the streets” and arrested one-third of them (60 people), with two of them facing “reckless endangerment” charges after unfurling a banner over the Brooklyn Bridge. ⁹

In June 2019, the New York Police Department arrested and charged 66 Extinction Rebellion NYC participants with disorderly conduct because of an XR disruption outside the Manhattan offices of the New York Times. The behavior leading to the arrests included XR participants climbing atop the awning in front of the newspaper’s building entrance and hanging a protest banner. ¹⁰

A spokeswoman for XR said the group wanted the Times to “take the lead reporting on the climate emergency” with coverage to rival what took place during “World War II” with “headlines every day.” She said the paper was providing “good reporting” but still “not treating [the so-called “climate emergency”] in the manner they should be.” ¹⁰

A New York Times spokesperson responded: “There is no national news organization that devotes more time, staff or resources to producing deeply reported coverage to help readers understand climate change than the New York Times.” ¹⁰

In April 2025, Extinction Rebellion NYC interrupted a New York City Ballet performance at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center when a handful of protestors began shouting and unfurled a banner before being removed. ¹¹

1. “Our Story.” Extinction Rebellion NYC. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.xrebellion.nyc/our-story
2. Extinction Rebellion NYC. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.xrebellion.nyc/demands-principles
3. Barnard, Anne. “Climate Change Protests: With Fake Blood, Extinction Rebellion Hits N.Y.” The New York Times. October 7, 2019. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/nyregion/extinction-rebellion-nyc-protest.html
4. “Extinction Rebellion: The story behind the activist group.” BBC. December 21, 2018. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-46626582/extinction-rebellion-the-story-behind-the-activist-group
5. “About.” Extinction Rebellion. Accessed July 12, 2019. https://rebellion.earth/the-truth/demands/
6. “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.earthworks.org/publications/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/
7.  “Extinction Rebellion London protest: 290 arrested.” BBC. April 17, 2019. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47945397
8.  Gayle, Damien. “Extinction Rebellion calls on protesters to block London streets.” The Guardian. April 13, 2019. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/13/extinction-rebellion-calls-protesters-block-london-streets
9. Acevedo, Gaby. “Crowd Swarms City Hall in NYC to Protest Climate Change.” NBC New York. May 5, 2025. Accessed https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Crowd-Swarms-City-Hall-in-NYC-to-Protest-Climate-Change-508718831.html
10. Thompson, Madeline; and Dakin Andone. “NYPD arrests 66 people at a climate protest outside The New York Times offices.” CNN. June 24, 2019. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/22/us/extinction-rebellion-new-york-times-arrests/index.html
11. Hernandez, Javier. “Climate Activists Interrupt New York City Ballet Performance” New York Times. April 22, 2025. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/arts/dance/nyc-ballet-climate-activists.html