Thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters marched their message through Manhattan Saturday - and stormed into a tense confrontation with the NYPD amid the bright lights of Times Square.

Police said 42 demonstrators were handcuffed as riot gear-clad cops and officers on horses trying to keep the streets clear pushed the surging protesters back against metal barricades.

The protesters - some sporting suits to resemble bankers - chanted "We are the 99%!" and "N-Y-P-D, you belong here with me!" at the cops, who stood guard in front of the square's neon-drenched stores.

Police said 42 protesters were arrested at Times Square. (James Keivom/News)

PHOTOS: OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTERS STRIKE OUT ACROSS MANHATTAN

While most protesters were confined to a holding pen, others briefly blocked traffic and were pushed back by police. Two cops suffered minor injuries in the chaos.

Police said 74 people in total were arrested by Saturday night as the throngs journeyed north from their Zuccotti Park base, stopping in Washington Square Park on their way to 42nd St.

Police said 42 protesters were arrested at Times Square. (James Keivom/News)

Twenty-four of the arrests were made when demonstrators staged a sit-in at a Citibank branch in the West Village. The protesters, who said they were trying to close their Citibank accounts, were handcuffed and pulled one-by-one from the LaGuardia Place outlet as their fellow demonstrators heckled police.

"They are arresting people for entering the bank," said protester Ari Cowan, 29. "This is insane. They are trying to close their accounts and being arrested for it."

The Citibank protesters were charged with criminal trespass and one of them was also charged with resisting arrest. Another brief standoff at a nearby Chase branch ended without arrests.

Scores of New York University students joined the demonstrators at Washington Square Park and encircled its famed arch, chanting and playing an eclectic mix of musical instruments.

"Now the whole world can hear us and we have a message for them - we are here, we are staying, and we are really, really, pissed off," said Mark Diamond, 28, a student at NYU. "Change begins here and now."

Police struggled to keep protesters behind barricades. (Kevin Hagen for News)

Police officers on foot and in vans followed the protesters as they marched north from the Financial District and then, after the fracas in Times Square, back to Washington Square Park where they promised to camp for the night.

But by 1 a.m., an hour after the park's midnight curfew, police in riot gear dispersed the crowd.

"This is what a police state looks like," shouted the crowds, some of whom displayed fresh suits and haircuts donated by some of the movement's sympathizers.

The tension that escalated as the day went on mirrored the mood from the day before when protesters and cops clashed in the hours after officials decided against clearing Zuccotti Park.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly warned yesterday he could not guarantee that there would not be future clashes between the anti-greed movement and the NYPD.

"I don't have a crystal ball," Kelly said. "We are going to enforce the law when it's violated. The vast majority of the demonstrations have been peaceful and we'd like them to stay that way."

Kelly also defended an officer's actions during a Friday fracas where Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona was caught on video tossing a punch at protester Felix Rivera-Pitre.

"I'll only caution people when you see a picture, you have to see the whole sequence of events," Kelly said. "Sometimes these are not neat situations. They can get tumultuous."

Cops said Rivera-Pitre was wanted on assault charges, which drew the ire of the protester's attorney. "Last time I checked it's not a crime to be beaten up by a police officer," said lawyer Ron Kuby.

Kuby also said that Kaylee Dedrick, one of the victims of the alleged pepper-spray assault by Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, will meet with the district attorney tomorrow.

Smaller satellite rallies popped up at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and Fordham Plaza in the Bronx before the crowds marched on Times Square. Others in the movement stayed behind at Zuccotti Park a day after they were nearly ousted from their base. At the 11th hour, officials backed off their intent to clean the park, a plan many protesters believed was a ruse to permanently shut down the Occupy Wall Street gathering.

With Matthew DeLuca, Clare Trapasso and Debbie Tuma

jlemire@nydailynews.com