What Was That Protest On 3rd Avenue On Tuesday Morning?

MIDTOWN, NY – Befuddled New Yorkers encountered a significant protest in Midtown East at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning. But what was it about?

Officials confirmed that a group of approximately 500 demonstrators were in fact marching up 3rd Avenue near E. 39th Street.

“It was a march for the return of constitution[al] order in Guinea,” the NYPD confirmed.

Guinea, a small country in West Africa which borders Senegal, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Mali, has been in turmoil since the military – which seized power in 2021 – dissolved the country’s government in February 2024.

Tuesday's protest, which took place near the Guinea Permanent Mission to the United Nation at 140 E. 39th Street, appears to have been planned on Aug. 16.

Attempts to contact Guinean officials have not been successful.

Immigrants from Guinea have proven to be a politically active force in the city. Guineans rallied outside the 39th Street address in February, and a rally outside City Hall in April regarding racial inequities in the city’s migrant shelters drew 1,500 people, most of whom were from Guinea, according to the Associated Press.

It’s unclear how many Guineans currently reside in New York. Data from 2017 indicates that there were just under 3,000 Guineans in New York City, but African migration to the United States has increased in recent years.