In anticipation of protest and police repression during the week of the Republican National Convention, the New York Civil Liberties Union has opened a storefront space from which to monitor police activity and provide resources to protestors.

From the Protecting Protest Storefront, just two blocks from Madison Square Garden, the NYCLU will launch over 100 attorneys, staff, and volunteers. NYCLU representatives will attend every RNC demonstration, permitted or unpermitted, to observe police behavior and to negotiate with the police.

"We are confident that through negotiations, through conversations and through vigilance, we can protect protesters,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU, at a party that opened the storefront space yesterday.

NYCLU lawyer Chris Dunn said the idea for the space was born on February 15, 2003. "We saw a disaster in New York City when the New York City Police Department cracked down on protesters who were out peacefully trying to protest the imminent war in Iraq," Dunn said.

In the weeks before the convention the storefront space will house a series of know-your-rights trainings and will serve as a resource center for organizers seeking information about protestors’ rights. During and after the RNC, protestors will be able to come to the space to file complaints about police behavior.

Steve Theberge, the Community Organizer for the Protecting Protest project, said the storefront “brings the work of the NYCLU to the street level, in every way.” In the weeks leading up to the Convention, Theberge will keep the space open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Starting on Thursday, August 26, it will be open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The NYCLU Protecting Protest Storefront is located at 520 8th Avenue (between 36th and 37th Streets). A training schedule, more information about the space, resources for New York City activists, and a calendar of RNC protests are available at www.rncprotestrights.org.