Iranian activists have proclaimed New York is “Going Green” this week as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes his annual trip to UN General Assembly. As part of the larger protest, the Iranians had lobbied to get the top of the Empire State Building lit in green but their request was rejected. According to the WSJ article, the building avoids taking part in “political disputes.”

But on Thursday, to the protesters’ delight, it will be green anyway, for another reason: an “Emerald Gala” for the 70th anniversary of the film “The Wizard of Oz.”
Organizers have notified their email lists, and many demonstrators plan to stand under the building and cheer when it lights up in the evening. Photographers documenting the protests plan to post the view online for inspiration around the globe, organizers said.
“The universe is smiling and the stars are aligned!” wrote one blogger, named Anonymous Iran. “I’m so happy I could cry!”

Also on Thursday, the activists will unfurl a mile-long green banner on the Brooklyn Bridge

Iranian blogs and Web sites have been trumpeting that New York is “Going Green” this week, a phrase they have sought to make synonymous with supporting the opposition movement led by Mir Hossein Mousavi, the top challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June presidential elections marred by allegations of rampant fraud.