Inside a hotel near Grand Central Terminal, Trump, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Governor John Kasich were addressing a New York state Republican Party gala as they campaign for the state’s primary contest on Tuesday.

A group of the protesters stormed the mezzanine of the Grand Hyatt with a banner that read: "NYC Rejects the Party of Hate." Eleven of them were reported arrested.

Outside the hotel, many anti-Trump demonstrators called the New York billionaire businessman a fascist or white supremacist.

Trump has drawn many protests for policy positions that include building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, deporting 11 million illegal immigrants and banning Muslims temporarily from entering the United States.

"I think that the direction of which Trump has taken the country and exploded the negativity and the racism and the classism that we know exists, but it is not all right to deal on those values. He's made it appropriate to do it. And I think that that is terrible. I don't want to live in that kind of country and I don't want to see young people behind me have to struggle with that kind of country," said Wilhelmina Perry.

Ralph Ferrigno said, "He's a phony. He's a liar. He used to be a liberal. He's vulgar about women. The things he said about his daughter. The things he said about Muslims, about Mexicans. He's just a joke and he's the worst person that's ever run for office that I've seen in my lifetime. And I think if he ever got into office it would be a disaster." Rana, who said she is a Turkish-American said Trump's presidential bid is based on hateful rhetoric.

"That's how Donald Trump has made his entire campaign. It's on bashing people who aren't, let's face it, they aren't white, they aren't wealthy, they don't matter." A series of speakers addressed the protest crowd with a loudspeaker.

Police set up portable barriers to keep protesters separated from traffic and allow pedestrians to pass on busy 42nd Street. Kasich scored a victory with the endorsement of former New York Governor George Pataki, an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 election.

But all signs point to a Trump victory in New York, a win that would help ease the pain of a loss to Cruz in Wisconsin last week and Cruz's outmaneuvering of Trump to sweep all the Republican delegates in Colorado, Reuters reported.

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