Arrests on Lower East Side as May Day Protests Spread They were met by a line of police officers who pushed them back, grabbed people out of the crowd, threw them to the ground and arrested at least four of them while trying to wrest a large banner away from the marchers. Officers then plunged into the crowd gathered on the south side of Houston Street, at the north end of the park, pushing protesters and journalists alike and making further arrests. The crowd took off running south through the park and east onto Forsyth Street. Protesters were also arrested on the Williamsburg Bridge, but as of 2:10 p.m. the Police Department said it had no information on any arrests associated with the protests on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority issued an alert Tuesday afternoon that "as a result of today's May Day demonstrations, bus detours may be necessary along several routes traveling through lower Manhattan" and that subways may be extra crowded. "Customers heading home during the afternoon/evening rush are urged to plan for extra travel time," the agency said. The protesters filled the whole block on the north side of 42nd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. Protesters were also gathering downtown at Sara D. Roosevelt Park at Chrystie and Houston Streets. On a rain-dampened morning, the widespread May Day protests coordinated by Occupy Wall Street got off to a relatively slow and calm start in New York, but by 11 a.m. Tuesday, many hundreds of protesters had massed in Bryant Park under the watchful eye of the police and private security. Earlier, small bands of protesters spread out around Midtown, often moving quickly from place to place, and forming picket lines in front of buildings connected to certain companies. Shortly before 9 a.m., several dozen people walked back and forth in front of the Bank of America tower at 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas chanting, "Bank of America, hey hey, who did you foreclose today?" "This is one of the most screwed-up companies in America," said one protester, Zeke Dunn, 30, a film and television producer from Greenpoint, Brooklyn. They got a $41 billion safety net, and the rest of us got nothing. Another group, with about 20 protesters, marched through the center of Grand Central Terminal blowing bullhorns and chanting, "We are unstoppable, another world is possible." Protesters carrying placards denouncing corporate greed very briefly blocked Fifth Avenue - for about 15 seconds - and were moved along by officers. At another point, a man was led off in handcuffs after witnesses said he stopped while crossing a street in Midtown and would not move, but the police did not confirm any arrests as of 11 a.m. Protesters also formed picket lines outside of several buildings housing Chase Manhattan bank offices. Thirty blocks south, in Union Square, protesters numbered in the handful and were far outnumbered by the police. By 11 a.m., several hundred people who had been assembled on the western edge of Bryant Park were joined by hundreds of others who came streaming in from 42nd Street after participating in various marches. They assembled on the western part of the park near a large fountain, where a marching band played and drummers pounded out a beat. Private security guards and city police officers also gathered, standing in small groups nearby and watching the crowd. Ivan Pereira and Daniel Krieger contributed reporting.