Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

By Alissa Fleck

Ever since OWS encampments were ejected from Zuccotti Park last fall, Brookfield Properties security company, in conjunction with the NYPD, has drawn up a set of rules aimed at stamping out any fledgling Occupy activity. These rules are “akin to being subjected to a TSA screening” for park patrons, reports Gothamist.

Brookfield released the “Rules of Engagement” document for security guards and police officers, which has been circulating the internet, highlighting the complex and delicate situation. It even describes various rules as being “in flux.”

One excerpt from the document reminds enforcers of the “zero tolerance” policy: “NYPD supervisors that prove to be resistant to enforcing the rules of the park should be reminded that Chief Esposito has agreed to this set of rules and wanted them to be enforced with zero tolerance.”

Gothamist reminds readers Esposito gained infamy as a past aggressor to OWS protestors, including shoving several onto a sidewalk at a demonstration. The document also outlines items which are prohibited, including drums, yoga mats and temporary kitchens.

These regulations reportedly exceed those formerly upheld by a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice.

If OWS-ers are prohibited from Brookfield properties, they do have other privately owned public spaces they can occupy nearby. For a full list of the Lower Manhattan locations most vulnerable to an OWS takeover click here.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

It’s just another day in the life of a Zuccotti Park security guard. The park, which remains under watch by security 24/7 since the dissolution of the Occupy encampment, is still witnessing acts of rebellion.

A Brookfield Properties security guard was playing computer games in the park last night, until he realized he was being filmed by an Occupy livestreamer, reports Gothamist. The security guard, accompanied by another, approached the Occupier and told him not to stand on the park chairs. When the accompanying guard implied the livestreaming may not be legal, the game-playing guard smashed the camera out of the man’s hand.

NYPD and livestream viewers appeared on scene to see what the melee concerned. Officers told the Occupy camera operators they were not allowed to stand on tables and chairs.

Video streaming by Ustream

—Alissa Fleck

Bishop George Packard in Duarte Square in 2011. Photo by Bklynraised, courtesy of Flickr Commons.

Back in December, eight OWS protesters were arrested for trespassing. Six months later their cases are finally going to trial, The Nation reports.

(by Alissa Fleck)

The December arrest took place at Duarte Square, where the Occupy movement saw its three-month anniversary. The OWS participants were standing in a vacant lot owned by Trinity Church at the time of their arrest. According to a reporter at The Guardian, the court room was overrun by occupiers yesterday at the eights’ arraignment.

Up for debate was whether “open to the public” signs around the church lot gave officers permission to clear the area, reports The Guardian. Trinity Church Rector James Cooper said the church was not seeking any sort of retribution, issuing a statement that “non-criminal dispositions without fines or incarceration be granted to all.” Cooper added that Trinity welcomes all OWS members.

Trinity made its facilities accessible to protesters at the beginning of the movement, but following the breakup of the Zuccotti Park encampment things got a little dicier, The Guardian says. Initially, protesters cut a hole in a fence to gain access to the vacant lot. Many were arrested. They made a second attempt a month later and again numerous occupiers faced arrest, including the December 17 eight. The eight, those who did not accept plea deals, decided to try their luck in court instead.

Episcopalian priest George Packard is one of the eight protesters going to trial. A YouTube video with 3,400 views shows him leading a group of protesters over the lot’s fence on a ladder. According to The Guardian, he spoke outside the courtroom about the consequences for his faith:

“I’m concerned that the church I love has changed around me,” he said.

May has seen a renewed vigor for certain activist movements, namely “Occupy Student Debt” and, on May 1, “May Day.” For it’s part, the Occupy Student Debt movement renewed its protest efforts as collective student debts broke the $1 Trillion threshold, with rallies planned for May 2 “at Union Square in Manhattan, and several colleges and universities around the country,” according to New York Times. However, thus far, the protesters that comprise Occupy Student Debt have been unsuccessful in achieving their goals, which include government regulation of private interest rates from existing loans offered from private lenders.

Similarly, May Day 2012 was an attempt by the self-proclaimed 99% (including many OWS Protestors) to “remove themselves” economically. Protesters were encouraged to skip out on work, shopping and spending in a globally coordinated attempt to “…collectively change working conditions in our world…” by “stepping out of the systems of production that confine and divide us,” according to MayDayNYC.org.

Both events circle back to the lingering disconnect that many New Yorkers – including students, immigrants and parents – have felt since the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement (which began in Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17, 2011). Since then, those sympathetic with the movement have referred to themselves as “the 99%,” a perceived mark of disconnect from financial institutions, corporations, as well as other wealthy establishments and individuals.

“Say ‘Hi’ to Vinnie for me”

Those were the parting words of Judge Matthew Sciarino to Council Ydanis Rodriguez after dismissing charges of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest stemming from the councilman’s November arrest.

Sciarino, a criminal court judge who was transferred to Manhattan from Staten Island after posting revealing details about his life on Facebook, may have been referring to Jimmy Oddo and Vincent Ignizo, Rodriguez’s two Council colleagues from Staten Island. But Rodriguez couldn’t say, focusing his public comments more on the need for the City to respect the constitutional rights of Occupy Wall Street supporters like himself.

“Today, with the dismissal of my charges, I am calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Commissioner [Ray] Kelly to spend those resources as is needed to protect our city from terrorist attack, keep our city safe, but also to defend our constitutional rights,” Rodriguez said outside the courthouse.

Rodriguez was arrested in the wake of the November 15 police sweep of Zuccotti Park that ended the first phase of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Rodriguez claims he was traveling to the park to observe the police action in his capacity as a Council member, but was detained and beaten by several police officers.

In court today, prosecutor Michele Bayer from the Manhattan district attorney’s office said that she doesn’t buy the councilman’s recollection of the events, but lacked the testimony, specifically from one female police officer, to try and convict him.

“As we don’t have the testimony of this specific female officer, we cannot prove the charges against this defendant beyond a reasonable doubt,” Bayer said. “Therefore, the People move to dismiss this case.”

Rodriguez’s lawyer, Andrew Stoll, said Bayer’s comments in court about finding “no evidence to corroborate” the councilman’s story were extraneous and unwarranted.

“This wasn’t the arena for them to make those comments,” Stoll said. “Those were gratuitous comments.”

Here’s the transcript of Bayer’s full comments from court:

To read the full article at City & State click here.

Dec. 17 marked the three-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. As a birthday present, I and others in the movement sought to re-occupy another public space, Duarte Square, at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Canal Street—just to clarify, Duarte Square is both a publicly owned triangular sidewalk and an enclosed lot to the west, which is privately owned by Trinity Church. We had planned a very festive day full of music, balloons, energy, dancing, songs and food to celebrate the seeds that were planted three months before, which have sprouted into a national movement.

At around 3 p.m., on the march around the square, people told me to stick close to the crowd in order to hide a ladder from sight of the police. The officers were mostly outside the fence, guarding its perimeter. But my group was able to reach a part of the fence without police in front of it. The ladder was erected for people to climb into Duarte Square, the new public space we would liberate. [Ed. note: Trinity Square’s portion of Duarte Square is currently closed to the public for the season.]

The first person to climb into the square was a retired bishop [Episcopal Bishop George E. Packard]. It was such an ironic image to see a bishop reclaiming a public space that Trinity Church had refused to allow Occupy Wall Street to use for an occupation.

As more people continued to climb into the park, other protestors successfully ripped the fence out from the bottom to create an entrance. Roughly 200 people, including myself, remained in the square until police began to charge inside, when many escaped through the newly made hole in the fence. I was on the periphery, watching as the 50 or so protestors who had bravely stayed inside were arrested for trespassing on “private property.”

In the middle of the excitement, I couldn’t help but notice the symbolic potential of this moment. It was the 99 percent succeeding at doing away with an unnecessary fence that symbolized the 1 percent. Our success lay in realizing our potential as the majority in this struggle, those who suffer from economic, social and cultural oppression.

We marched uptown to the house of Trinity Church’s owner to protest the hostility toward our genuine intentions to reclaim a public space. We marched with enthusiasm and energy by taking to the streets and stopping traffic. Such militancy clearly arose from ordinary people—from city council members to teachers to radicals to the unemployed—engaging in direct action. You could hear chants like “A-Anti-Anti-Capitalista” and “Bloomberg beware, Zuccotti Park is everywhere” from blocks away.

We proved to the world that we are willing to spend the night in jail, climb fences, take the streets and escalate to build momentum and solidarity for a newly born movement that seeks to achieve justice for the 99 percent.

Disclaimer: Lucas Vazquez is not an official spokesperson for Occupy Wall St.

The Fight Over Duarte Square

By Marissa Maier

While Trinity Wall Street, an Episcopalian church located in Lower Manhattan, provided early support like blankets and places to rest for Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters, the faith organization now finds itself at odds with members of the movement.

Since OWS was evicted from its previous home in Zuccotti Park in mid-November, the protesters are now calling to set up an encampment on a triangular piece of property owned by the Episcopalian Diocese in Soho. They attempted to occupy the space on the three-month anniversary of OWS this Saturday, Dec. 17. The property in question, Duarte Square, is a small, empty plot bordered by 6th Avenue, Sullivan, Grand and Canal streets.

“Vast resources sit unused while people are in need—in need of homes, schools, jobs and public places to gather and empower communities,” members of the movement noted in a press release before Saturday’s “Re-Occupy” event. “This vacant lot [Trinity Wall Street’s portion of Duarte Square] has sat empty for the past 3 years and is not slated for development for at least another year, similar to the hundreds of bank-owned, foreclosed homes in East New York.”

In a statement, the rector of Trinity Church, the Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, noted that the church still holds the ideological values of the movement dear and pointed out that Duarte Square isn’t equipped with the facilities to accommodate an encampment, especially in the winter months.

“OWS protestors call out for social and economic justice; Trinity has been supporting these goals for more than 300 years. The protestors say they want to improve housing and economic development; Trinity is actively engaged in such efforts in the poorest neighborhoods in New York City and, indeed, around the world,” Cooper wrote.

“We do not, however, believe that erecting a tent city at Duarte Square enhances their mission or ours,” he continued. “In good conscience and faith, we strongly believe to do so would be wrong, unsafe, unhealthy and potentially injurious. We will continue to provide places of refuge and the responsible use of our facilities in the Wall Street area.”

Protestors marching up 6th Avenue from Duarte Square in celebration of their three-month anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 16. PHOTO BY pamela drew

We’d run into some money trouble, but my husband and I had always adhered to the American isolationist policy regarding finances: act as if everything is fine and never, ever, under any circumstances ask for help.

Then again, a layman’s definition of insanity is to “keep doing what you’ve always done and expect different results.” So one day, when our bills-vs.-income ratio seemed especially dire, we gave up and threw a rent party.

As far as I know, rent parties began in Harlem in the 1920s. Some tenant behind on his rent hired local jazz and blues musicians and invited guests, who paid 25 cents for admission and 25 cents for items from the concession stand of homemade food and drinks. In other incarnations of the gathering, a hat was passed in lieu of a cover charge. After the cost of the musicians was covered, all proceeds went to the tenant in need of assistance.

The very term “rent party” sounds at odds with the Puritanical belief system my husband and I inherited. But it also conjures up images of the kind of community defined by Webster’s as “a unified body of individuals.” And what a unified body those early shindigs must have been, with apartments full of shimmying partygoers whooping it up to the Charleston, the Black Bottom and other dances from the ’20s.

For our rent party, we congregated on a Saturday afternoon with friends coming from near and far. The late summer light streamed into our home like a blessing, reminding me of lyrics from the 1927 song, “The Best Things in Life are Free.” The party peaked with 30 or so guests, and more than a few of us cut a rug.

We played Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong on our iPod, along with John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Aretha Franklin. Such gatherings in the ’20s often sported “cutting contests,” where pianists like James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith attempted to outdo each other in virtuosity.

While we didn’t have the advantage of a piano, a few vocalists in the crowd urged one another on to some pretty fancy a cappella riffs. Our friend Omayra Rolon, also known as “The Empress,” performed her elegant and memorable rendition of the 1920s classic “Bye Bye Blackbird” in the spirit of those early jazz singers, and our 14-year-old daughter sang “Valerie” in soulful tribute to the late Amy Winehouse.

We’ve lived in the same rent-stabilized building in Washington Heights since 1995, so we know lots of our neighbors, many of whom donated whatever they could afford. Cynthia Guernsey, a local visual artist, auctioned off a painting she’d created for the occasion, a detail of Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss.” Klimt painted “The Kiss” at the height of his Golden Period, and Cynthia’s interpretation reflected the wealth she wished for us. Checks enclosed in love letters arrived in the mail from friends who couldn’t make the party. Someone sent an anonymous gift of cash. Thank you, Anonymous.

It was heart-opening to ask for help and heartwarming to receive the love. I am grateful for our many circles of friends. Luckily, in the weeks since the party, my husband and I have both secured work. Still, our experience has left us both pondering the word “community” and the many ways this financial crisis is bringing people together.

By an apt coincidence, we held our rent party Sept. 17, the first day of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. Whether in Zuccotti Park or at the home of friends, whether for a “long-term mass occupation to restore democracy in America” (as described on occupywallst.org) or to help a family pay rent, Americans’ right to “peaceably assemble” is a vital part of our First Amendment. Who knew it could also be the cat’s meow?

The marchers seemed to diverge into two sections. While a majority made their way into City Hall Park, a group of roughly 20 protesters stood at a crosswalk, stopping traffic. While cabs, buses and vehicles honked their horns, the crowd remained, eventually dispersing to reveal about 10 AIDS activists chained together, donning dark green Robin Hood-inspired tunics and caps with the words “Take It Back” written across a symbol of a bag of money.

“Keep walking, you will get arrested if you do not stay on the sidewalk,” shouted organizers of the rally to most of the crowd. The group of protesters teemed on the edge of the sidewalk where Park Place and Broadway meet.

“I guess those are the people who were planning to get arrested,” one woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, said to a fellow demonstrator. Asked if this was preplanned through the organizations as a whole, the woman replied, “No, but I do think it has become a part of our culture for some people to socially martyr themselves.”

The New York Police Department arrived with a van, and proceeded to arrest the chained protesters.

While the protesters seemed to diverge into two groups, they shared a common complaint and mission: to demand Mayor Bloomberg drop his opposition to the NY State Millionaires Tax and to call upon Senator Charles Schumer to support a Financial Transaction Tax on Wall Street in order to generate money for HIV/AIDS housing and other services. According to a press release distributed by Housing Works, Mayor Bloomberg has cute more than $10 million for HIV/AIDS in the past year.

At his World AIDS Day breakfast, however, Mayor Bloomberg highlighted the work the city has done to help New Yorkers know their HIV/AIDS status. Both Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) President Alan D. Aviles accepted an award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the event. According to the city, HHC has tested more than 1 million New Yorkers for HIV since 2005, the year that public hospitals and health centers began to offer HIV testing as part of their routine medical care for people ages 13 to 64.

Update, 8:55 p.m.: According to the speaker at General Assembly, approximately 99 workers and councilmen sat down in front of a bridge and were arrested around 6 p.m. today. They are still currently held on a bus in queens. On December 10th, Human Rights Day, they will be marching to the United Nations.

Update, 8:52 p.m.: The speaker at General Assembly is saying that in Occupy D.C. there was a house built on Pennsylvania avenue for Occupy. It is 4 blocks away from the white house. On Sunday at the Brooklyn General Assembly, they’re casting a march to evict Mayor Bloomberg. Tomorrow at Atlantic Terminal, there will be protests at Noon. Also tomorrow, there will be a rally at Foley to protest the NYPD and the racial profiling of Muslims.

Update, 8:41 p.m.: I’m currently in front of Brooklyn World War II memorial. “Mic Check” is happening at General Assembly so everyone can hear. First speaker said they were upset with city officials about what happened earlier in the week Zuccotti Park (or as they call it Liberty Park). Next up is “Occupy The Bronx.” Today 50 protesters gathered on the grand concourse and held up the 4 train, so people could hear their stories. Train goers joined them on their way to Foley Square, so they considered the subway takeover a success. Next speaker up said that the city was mistaken in thinking that the movement needed a park to thrive because they’re organized and won’t be stopped.

Update, 8:28 p.m.: Solid mass of people on the Brooklyn bridge with no breaks. They were shouting that they’re 32,000 strong. Cadman Plaza Park is where I am now. General assembly is on. There is a crowd of people greeting marchers from across the street. Only a few hundred, most people are leaving.

Update, 8:16 p.m.: Protesters are now chanting open the iron gate at police manning barricades barring them from entrance into Brooklyn. Cop
tells everyone to be careful and walk to the park next to the bridge for a staging area. He tells protesters that they’re [the police] part of the 99% and people shout back, “nice cop!”

Update, 8:10 p.m.: The march has slowed to a standstill as NYPD  are holding up the end of the bike line. Hundreds chant, “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out.”

Update, 8:00 p.m.: Just made it to the Brooklyn side of the bridge.

Update, 7:45 p.m.: Among the peaceful protesters is Jason slack, 40, a British carpenter living in Jersey City. “What’s going on here is amazing, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. It’s a great start and in the spring, great things are to come!” He exclaims.

Update, 7:35 p.m.: Crowds congregate on the bridge calling for drivers to stop their cars. Some drivers do so, but many more honk their horns solidarity. Cops are suspiciously absent from the bridge.

Update, 7:25 p.m.: On the Brooklyn Bridge, people in unitedny.org t-shirts are holding hands in a barrier to protect protesters against potential violence from cops.

Update, 7:15 p.m.: I’m by the Brooklyn Bridge at Lafayette Street. There are caution signs that are lit up saying that pedestrians on the roadway will be arrested. Uniformed NYPD are restricting access on the surrounding streets, while officers standing in pickup trucks shout from megaphones to remind them to stay on walkways. Protesters are herded onto sidewalks and the walkway of the bridge.

Update, 6:45-7:10 p.m.: I’ve been gridlocked at Read and Lafayette streets. There’s no movement at all around me.

Update, 6:45 p.m.: Word has carried down the line that the first protesters have reached Brooklyn Bridge, invigorating the crowd. Spotlights shine on 2 Lafayette and court houses. People are chanting, “we are the 99% and we occupy together.”

Update, 6:30 p.m.: Protesters march to the cadence of “March March March” as they’re flanked by police in riot gear. Reverend Powell shouts
the people’s right to peaceful protest.

Update, 6:15 p.m.: “Whose streets? Our streets!” Thousands are now present in Foley Square. They shout that nonviolent protests are creativity. Now protesters are urged to take to the streets and march on the Brooklyn Bridge. The National Lawyer’s Union announced their Pro-Bono aid, while many people don goggles to protect against pepper spray and write the NLU’s telephone number on their arms.

Update, 5:45 p.m.: The New School announces that they’re now occupied. The president of the university welcomes all protestors to go there. Members of the UAW and the teamsters protest as a mass on the corner of Lafayette and Worth Streets in front of Federal Plaza.

Update, 5:15 p.m.: Speakers begin to take the stage to tell their story, urging protesters to exile Chase bank out of Manhattan because of unfair lending practices. Meanwhile congestion piles up as hundreds more join the protesters in the square.

Update, 5:00 p.m.: There’s well over 1,00 people here in Foley Square. Entertainers have started playing and “Occupy Wall Street, All Day, All Week” chant resounds from speakers set up throughout the square. Ellen and Angela, 48, are teachers protesting on behalf of public education. They accuse United Federation of Teachers of not doing anything to protect its members or even attempting to stop the privatization of the educational system in America. “They’re a lot of talk but they don’t have any, shall we say, guts.” Angela explains. Her colleague, Ellen, adds that “with tonight’s protests we hope to legitimize this and make it a real movement that can influence those elected to office, end the current agenda, and get corporatism out of politics.”

Update, 4:40 p.m.: As a marching band parades around Foley Square, David Suker, a bronx born 2 year army veteran, hands out copies of the ‘Occupy Wall Street Journal’ to people walking by. During the march tonight he hopes that “we shut the city down, shut the Brooklyn bridge down, and a thousand of us get arrested so we can show our determination to our cause.” Elsewhere members of occupyny.org hand out leaflets. Teachers from the United Federation teachers hand out posters, hats, ponchos and glow sticks to protestors to help them through the damp night. A man, who only wishes to be identified as Walter, has taught for the board of education for 30 years says, “It’s a good thing, a great thing. We’re speaking of a situation that encompasses everyone.”

Update, 4:25 p.m.: Police have started to set up barricades around Foley Square and the blocks surrounding Chambers Street to City Hall. Entrances to places such as the Tweed Court House are staffed by cops in riot gear behind sawhorses and metal fences. Foley Square itself is packed with hundreds of protestors waving signs admist the sounds of beating drums.

Update, 3:45 p.m.: Police start escorting protesters out of Zuccotti park who are carrying large bags and backpacks. Protesters are undeterred. A worker for the pprivate park, who chose to remain anonymous, said that security and the police are there to make sure that there isn’t another encampment. Police officers themselves have refused to comment. ‘Uncle Bob’ Griffen, 53, who used to run the fregan kitchen ‘Chow Hounds’ in the park says, “They’re trying to control what we’re doing and where we can go, but they can’t deny our power to affect the system through non violent protest.”

First Post, 3:30 p.m.: Preparing for protests the NYPD has massed en force. They’ve cordoned off the streets surrounding the New York Stock Exchange. Entrances to New Street and exchange place are blocked off by cops decked out in riot gear. Few people are allowed to walk through with the police demanding to see iDs and their destinations. There are roughly 200 people in Zucotti park now. Protesters come from all walks of life. Joanne Fioriito, 56, is a navy veteran on her third visit here. Coming from Tuckhannock, PA, she says that “We’re all here for different reasons. People’s greed is affecting everyone in some way. At home we have to deal with hydrofraking which is poisoning are water for money.”

According to Alix Koloff, who was in the settlement’s kitchen at the time, the police arrived around 1 a.m. near the Broadway and Liberty Street entrance, turning on bright lights and telling protesters to gather their belongings and vacate. “Gradually, they were on all sides of the park with their shields,” she said.

Koloff and many others, she noted, stayed put until about 3:30 or 4 a.m., when she said police began dragging individuals out of the park. She added that she left the kitchen right before a group of people were pepper-sprayed.

Roughly a block away at about 2 a.m. Anthony Robledo, who has been part of the occupation for a month, was barred from re-entering the park by police. He watched as trucks moved toward the area. Several witnesses reported that the trucks were used to cart off the protesters’ tents and belongings.

While many others relocated to nearby Foley Square, Robledo stayed behind and waited until he was let into Zuccotti Park at around 7 a.m. According to statements from police officials, roughly 142 people were arrested inside the park, including Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, and an additional 50 or 60 individuals were arrested on nearby streets. There have also been widespread reports of the media being barred from covering the events.

At a press conference later that morning, Bloomberg noted that the park should be accessible to the full public but that OWS’ use of tents and temporary structures had made this impossible. For weeks, local politicians had been fielding complaints from residents regarding quality-of-life issues such as urination and defecation and excessive noise.

“This morning, the city took targeted action to restore public safety and security to the Lower Manhattan neighborhood. I have been assured that the protesters will be allowed to return to Zuccotti Park—for 24 hours a day—where they can continue to exercise their First Amendment rights,” said Council Member Margaret Chin.

“I do not believe the ban on tents and other sleeping material impedes on these rights,” she said. “With the park rules in place, residents and area workers can once again make use of this public space.”

In a joint statement, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and State Sen. Daniel Squadron noted: “We agree that Zuccotti Park must be open and accessible to everyone—OWS, the public, law enforcement and first responders—and that it is critical to protect the health and safety of protesters and the community. The city’s actions to shut down OWS last night raise a number of serious civil liberties questions that must be answered.

“Moving forward, how will the city respect the protesters’ rights to speech and assembly? Why was press access limited and why were some reporters’ credentials confiscated? How will reported incidents of excessive force used by the police be addressed?”

Community Board 1 Chairperson Julie Menin added, “CB1 has been clear that we oppose the use of force in this situation and oppose a forcible clearing of the park. We believe that there is a solution that allows the protection of OWS’ First Amendment rights and also respects the quality of life for residents and small businesses.

“As we have consistently said,” she asserted, “these two are not mutually exclusive and we urge the city to meet with OWS and work toward a reasonable solution.”

“I think, under this administration, the NYPD likes to keep the media as far from anything they do as they can,” Leonard Levitt, author of the book NYPD Confidential, observed.

OWS was dealt another setback that day when New York City Justice Michael D. Stallman ruled that the property owner Brookfield Properties had the right to uphold its rule prohibiting the use of “tents, structures, generators and other installations” in the park. Some protesters, however, remain undeterred.

“These people,” said Robledo, pointing to the officers  in Zuccotti Park on Tuesday afternoon, “are doing their job, and we have to do ours. We are going to reoccupy.”

Photo credits: Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning after it was cleared. Photo by Dan Nguyen