Protesters gear up for N.Y.

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Thousands of protesters plan to converge on New York this summer for the Republican National Convention and already are promoting their antiestablishment events through Web sites and word of mouth.

One site facilitates lodging in the nation's largest city; another collects postings on street demonstrations; and yet another provides a map of Manhattan with a large red star next to Madison Square Garden, where the convention's official proceedings will take place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.

"Over 1,000 groups have filed applications for demonstration permits," said Kevin Sheekey, special adviser to New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "Some are large, some are small. And we've got the people to handle this."

The protesters expect opposition to President Bush will lead to big turnouts for their events.

"There is a high level of interest in New York City, where so many people did not support the war in Iraq and the city was used as a reason for the war on terror, quote unquote," said Bill Moss, media coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, which is organizing an Aug. 29 march down Eighth Avenue.

"This will be a summer weekend, there will be people coming from out of town, and there are plenty of people in the city who are going to be part of the activities during the week," he said.

The 36,000-officer New York Police Department will handle most of the street action, which usually results in arrests and detentions, and sometimes violence.

In a passionate plea for funding earlier this month, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau told the City Council that arrests during the convention could reach 1,000 a day, three times the city's normal volume.