Many protesters in the past two weeks have been invoking the spirit of Occupy Wall Street, and as with that movement, there are thousands of unaffiliated people drawn to the cause, mixing with a very loose network of groups.

Community Organizer Alysia Aguilera, from Vocal New York, said the street marching and traffic shutdowns are making a statement and letting people vent, but she also said it is also important to be "strategic" about targeting elected officials with specific initiatives for change.

"Spontaneous protest is exciting, but it's not always the most strategic move," she said during a demonstration Thursday night. "So I think if we can couple the two together, then we'll have a better approach to the change we want. We want to be out in the streets but we want to be at the table to reform NYPD policies as well." 

Aguilera said so-called "broken windows policing" — which focuses on stamping out even relatively small problems — is an approach that needs to end, because it makes life in minority communities stressful — and even dangerous.

Another protester, Adilka Pimentel, from Make the Road New York, said she thinks Mayor de Blasio is saying many of the right things about improving police relations, but she said he is not going far enough.

"They're thinking about training. They're thinking about body cameras," Pimentel said. "But that's just a step, not a solution. We just want to be safe, and that means changing the culture of the NYPD entirely."

Both Pimentel and Aguilera — and many others — say they hope the demonstrations continue.