Pedestrians passing by Union Square Park early on Thursday morning a week and a half ago would have noticed three buses idling on the north side of the park. Gathering outside were 140 New Yorkers, from 13 year old Danielle Curre to retired animator Ron Crawford. They held handmade signs and wore small blue buttons. They were boarding buses headed to Washington, D.C., for the largest health care rally in history.

Asian-American activists, alerted to the rally under the leadership of Liz OuYang of Organization of Chinese-Americans and Theresa Thanjan of South Asians for Opportunity, were among the hundreds of New Yorkers taking the day off to attend the historic event.

Organized by Health Care for America Now, the rally aimed to move key Senators and House Members to support a reform package that guarantees a public option with standard, comprehensive benefits for all Americans.

Inside the Union Square buses last Thursday, several organizers made dozens of calls on their cell phones. Theresa Thanjan chatted with two fellow Staten Islanders, April Pruski and David Fealey, who are medical students at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education (CUNY). They prepped for their meeting with Rep. McMahon, discussing strategy with labor union members on another bus. Dr. Carol De Costa, who had taken the day away from her busy practice, organized a team of doctors. A young patient’s right advocate, Kelly Cuvar, herself a cancer patient for nearly ten years, dozed on her boyfriend’s shoulder, relaxing before her possible speech that afternoon on the steps of an insurance giant’s headquarters, AHIP. And lastly, Timothy Lunceford, a deaf activist, met with the Tribeca for Obama’s Alan Howard, gathering other community members in Rep. Nadler’s district.

Others planned which delegation they wanted to be on and wrote postcards to their Senators.

The rally organizers had released a press advisory two days before estimating 6,000 attendees. In New York, a small team of volunteers and advocates, led by Mark Hannay of Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign, planned the fleets of Manhattan buses on a regular Tuesday afternoon conference call. Some had worried about turnout.

However, New Yorkers leaving the bus saw over 10,000 people on the bright sunny lawn of the Upper Senate Park. The day had a feel of a picnic, if picnic goers carried signs and ate lunch in front of speeches by Sopranos’ star Edie Falco, Sens. Schumer, Dodd and others.

As the rally unfolded, bus members also made their way to the Rayburn Building to meet with their Representatives. Rep. Nadler’s delegation met with him before he left for a floor vote. The Staten Island team grilled Rep. McMahon, who was lukewarm about his support for a public health insurance option. The different delegations collected their notes to share with their groups back home, informing them of who to reach out to next.

On the ride home, the bus riders were tired but “thrilled by the experience,” said volunteer Marlena Baraf. “I want to know what I can do next.”

“It was good to see those crowds,” Tamara Acoba, an Asian-American teacher, said. “It shows the Obama grassroots movement is waking up, and ready to go.”

Check out this link for pictures and drawings by Ron Crawford.