On Nov. 5, 1985, in a protest at New York University’s Loeb Center, on Washington Square South, activists used a big prop to call for a freeze on deploying cruise missiles. There were antinuclear protests worldwide in 1985 demanding that the U.S. and NATO halt missile deployments that were part of the arms race with the Soviets. In New York City, activists feared that plans to build a Navy port on Staten Island would bring cruise missiles to the city.
— Gabe Herman