Fur Protest Takes Place On Main Street

Two years ago, a group of activists from Long Island Animal Advocates (LIAA) and Animal Defense League of Long Island (ADL-LI), met in front of Sign of the Furs to show their disgust with local furriers. After an hour of demonstrating on the sidewalk near the fur store at 114 Main Street, the group decided to walk a block over to Furs by Barbatsuly & Sideris at 102 Main Street.

This afternoon, a group of protesters from those same two organizations took to the sidewalks of Main Street again.

"The same group comes every two years," said Peter Sideris, owner of Furs by Barbatsuly & Sideris. "There were less people this year than last time."

Sederis said protests like this aren't uncommon for animal activist groups like LIAA and ADL-LI. "Two years ago, they also protested in front of Americana," he explained, "but they were not allowed on the grounds because it was private property. They have to have a permit to protest in a public area. Our store is in a public place." Sederis added that the Port Washington Police notified him about the protest ahead of time.

The Animal Defense League is a nationally active, grassroots, animal liberation and defense organization. According to its Web site, the organization differs from many mainstream, national groups in that it "works to inform the public about animal abuse issues on a local level."

"We are a group of individuals who get together to bring attention to the public," said John Greene of the Animal Defense League. "And they do not get paid to do this."

Lou Babs & Moogs employee Jennifer Grieg said she witnessed the entire protest from the storefront across the street. "Nothing really happened," Grieg said. "I've seen them before, around the winter, usually here in the mornings, and there's no action."

The protest lasted between two and three hours, but many bystanders described it as "uneventful."

"There were two signs and a couple of people holding each sign," Grieg said. "People in the streets were not too happy."