Video: The BP Station in Soho Gets 'Occupied' by Oil-Covered Mermaid Protesters

Photo via Young Manhattanite.

Click to enlarge.

It's Memorial Day Weekend! And if you're like some New Yorkers, you headed out of town as soon as you could, to some of the best beaches in the country. And if you're these New Yorkers ... you geared up for a Friday night at the BP station on Lafayette and Houston, in the heart of Soho, to protest the oil conglomerate and occupy the station.

And if you're like us, you sent your daring intern Annie down there to talk to them. Here's what she came back with.

Annie! You're alive. What'd you see? Were there a lot of protesters down there? There were probably just as many reporters as protesters there. So not a lot.

Basically, the people who couldn't get to the beach: protesters and reporters. And bloggers. What else?
I kept stepping in the "protest-oil" (actual oil) people were ...

Wait, actual oil? Like, motor oil, right?
Sure.

Photo by Annie Werner.

Oily Mermaids! Click to enlarge.

Christ.
[The protesters] were throwing it on themselves to "symbolize" the way BP has affected the "living creatures."

"Living creatures" is redundant, aren't they protesting on behalf of the dead ... whatever. What was the scene like?
A lot of people holding signs and standing and photographers taking pictures of them.

No chaos? No arrests? No terrified tourists?
It was very subdued -- not a lot of yelling or angry mobs, but the mermaid costumes definitely made a statement. Of sorts.

Well, you get the audience you deserve, or something. Annie was also brave enough to talk to some of the protesters.

Here's a young mermaid-protester named Caroline from Code Pink: Women for Peace, on the changes she'd like to see BP make:

And here's a nice lady who came down by herself with an old costume she had in her place, which I believe is also a mermaid costume:

Most of the people were like her, Annie noted! Friendly. And not too angry. Except for these guys:

Who were angry (but nice!). Also, not incorrect. We showed up pretty early on, but if we hear of any other chaos or calamity, we'll be sure to update and let you know. And if you hear of any protest madness, we'd love to hear it.

[fkamer@villagevoice.com | On Twitter. With reporting by Annie Werner | On Twitter.]