Washington Square Park Perfect Backdrop for Sanders Rally as New York Times Dramatically Downplays Crowd Size

After all the build up, questions as to whether the redesigned Washington Square Park could still accommodate a large rally such as Bernie Sanders, the answer was, for the most part, yes.

The Bernie Sanders campaign says 27,000 people attended, reflecting the crowds in the park and spilling onto nearby Greenwich Village streets. The New York Daily News put forth 30,000 in the park, but the New York Times leads its article off stating that Sanders was joined by “several thousand jubilant supporters.” Numbers can be difficult to gauge but it was clearly way more than that.

And yet, there were vast parts of the park underutilized, areas where flower beds were ill-advisedly placed in the redesigned park (paths east and west of fountain); the new design makes aspects of rallies more challenging as all that “symmetry” cuts back on space in key areas. There was still room for more people in the far corners of the park even at the point no one else was being let in early on, but the storied space and its magnificent Arch provided a great backdrop to Bernie Sanders and his for-the-people message.

Overflow crowds lined Washington Square South and the Greenwich Village streets surrounding the park.

Things that resonated with me during the rally: “dream big” – actor Tim Robbins said, as he outlined his support for Sanders and his message, and “radical” ideas are often ones that make sense but get marginalized as corporate, media and societal status quo interests override them (paraphrasing Sanders). Of course, so much more was said as Sanders spoke, outlining his core issues, for over an hour in the park to enthusiastic supporters.

The build up: