READER FRED SIESEL sends a report from today’s NYC Tea Party protest:

Just got back from the NY Tea Party. You will, I’m sure, be getting more detailed reports, with photos, but this is an “early” report. I arrived at the City Hall park forty minutes before the scheduled time and began to wonder if I made a mistake on the details. I spent a little time and money in J&R Music and went across the street to the park about 20 minutes of two. There were a disheartening 30-40 people there. But, the number quickly began to increase. My guess as to the size of the crowd was circa 300. Many carried placards. The theme most common to most of them was “No to Socialism”. I jotted some of the, to me, “memorable” signs:

No to American Socialism
Socialism Kills
Pork the Other (Red) Meat
Liberty is All the Stimulus We Need
United States of France
Trickle Up Poverty, and
Foreclose the White House

There were also two signs, one quoting Margaret Thatcher and the other amending a Ronald Reagan line during the 1980 campaign.

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.

A recession is when your neighbor loses his job.
A depression is when you lose your job.
Recovery begins when Jimmy (Obama) Carter lose his job.

There was also a noteworthy t-shirt with the following:

To: The New York Times
Why are terrorists innocent until proven guilty
But, NYC Cops guilty until proven innocent?

The back of the t-shirt had the same question, except for the substitution of U.S. Marines for NYC Cops. The fellow wearing it said he was a former Marine.

There were reporters there from the two 24-hour local NYC stations: WCBS and WINS.

Many people got up to say their piece. Common theme: Liberty/freedom vs. Socialism/Marxism.

Still going strong when I left after an hour.

Looking forward the the pictures you post and to find out how by how much my crowd estimate differed.

I’ll post some later tonight; they’ve started to come in.

UPDATE: Here’s one, courtesy of reader Robert McManus:

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Abbie Meyer writes:

I drove in from Summit New Jersey for the New York City Tea Party today. There were about 150 people which is pretty good considering we were so deep in enemy territory. The crowd was polite but angry at the usual cast of Democrat characters. Lot’s of good signs. Obama…Commander and Thief ” was my favorite.

There is some real potential for this movement if organized around a central theme. 15 or so speakers of varying quality, invited and impromptu, with various conservative gripes. There was no discernible NYC media there except perhaps Univision. We are supposed to send tea-bags to our elected Representatives.

I think this movement will build as conservatives get more upset and more organized. They will be joined by moderates with pitchforks by the fall. Hopefully it won’t be too late to stop the madness by then. The next one will be better and bigger I’m sure.

Quite likely. Plus, another picture from reader Shelley Hartman, who estimates the crowd at 400.

MORE: Reader John Helferich writes:

Attendance 400, measured by head count.

Press: NY Post, NYU Student Newspaper, WINS Radio (shown below)

Crowd was enthused and full of “normal” people. Only a few cranks. No counter protests, just one kid tried to sing out a few lines of the “Marseillaise” while walking thru.

And here’s a report at the Berman Post.