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#OccupyWallStreet

By David Freedlander 11/17/11 6:11pm

#OccupyWallStreet

on November 17, 2011 in New York City.

Bloomberg Underwhelmed By Occupy Wall Street Protests

Mayor Mike Bloomberg had a hastily-scheduled press conference at Bellevue Hospital to alert New Yorkers about some police officers who were injured during Occupy Wall Street’s Day of Action today, and he stressed that the protesters had so far failed in their efforts to disrupt the business of the city.

“Occupy Wall Street had predicted on their website they’d have tens tens of thousands of people at this protest, so far there have been far fewer,” he told reporters. “So far they have caused what could accurately be described as minimal disruption to the city. The Stock Exchange opened on time as you’d expect, and the rest of the city it has been business as usual.” Read More

By David Freedlander 11/17/11 2:40pm

#OccupyWallStreet

03QUh

Common Cause Calls On Bloomberg To Replace OWS Library

The good government group Common Cause is calling on the city to replace every single volume in the Occupy Wall Street library.

“People who would ransack and trash a library or a book collection put themselves on the moral level of book-burners,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of the group. ”Their actions are intolerable.” She added, “To the extent that the books lost can be accounted for, the city should replace each title, buying two new copies for each one destroyed. And for whatever number are unaccounted for, the city should provide Occupy’s librarians with funds sufficient to buy twice as many.” Read More

By David Freedlander 11/16/11 3:57pm

#OccupyWallStreet

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Bloomberg Officials Prep City For Massive Occupy Wall Street Protests Tomorrow

Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are planning a massive protest that threatens to shut down portions of the city, and this afternoon two top deputies of Mayor Mike Bloomberg briefed reporters on the preparations that the administration and the police are taking.

“All of our agencies are going to prepared,” said Cas Holloway, deputy mayor for operations. “These kinds of events happen in New York City all of the time. Last year NYPD dealt with 600 protests south of 59th street in Manhattan, so certainly protests are not something surprising to us. We deal with them every day.”

Tomorrow, Occupy Wall Street is planning to gather in Liberty Square at 7:00 a.m and head over to the New York Stock Exchange, where they may try to disrupt trading. In the afternoon, protesters are planning to “Occupy The Subway,” and afterwards head to City Hall and nearby bridges.

“Everything that we have seen and heard suggests that we may have tens  of thousands of people at tomorrow’s protest,” added Howard Wolfson, the deputy mayor for communications. “The protesters are calling for a massive event aimed at disrupting major portions of the city.” Read More

By David Freedlander 11/15/11 6:48pm

#OccupyWallStreet

newell

Paul Newell: My Night In The #OWS Lock-Up

Democratic district leader Paul Newell was hanging out at The Living Room on the Lower East Side (“It’s in my district!” he said) when he received word on Twitter that the NYPD was preparing to clear out Zuccotti Park.

He got on his bike and headed down to Zuccotti Park (“Also in my district,” he noted) hoping “to speak to an incident commander, use my title, use my seat to defuse the situation. In retrospect, obviously, that seems like a futile endeavor,” he said. “By the time I got down there it was too late.” Read More

By David Freedlander 11/15/11 6:01pm

#OccupyWallStreet

bloom

Bloomberg Says Ruling ‘Vindicates’ Decision To Clear Park

A little while ago Judge Michael Stallman ruled that protesters were permitted to return to Zuccotti Park, but were not permitted to bring tents, tarps or generators.

And Mayor Bloomberg quickly released a statement saying that the ruling vindicated his administration’s decision to clear the park. He also said that if protesters were unhappy about being kept out of Zuccotti earlier today, they had no one to blame but themselves: Had they followed city orders all along, and not brought the lawsuit, they could have returned earlier today.

“This morning we planned to re-open Zuccotti Park to the public, including any protestors, at approximately 8:00 AM when the cleaning was completed. The opening of the park was delayed due to legal action taken against the City, but Zuccotti Park is now open to the public,” the mayor said. Read More

By Hunter Walker 11/07/11 11:24am

#OccupyWallStreet

Danny "Lotion Man" Cline occupying Wall Street. (Photo: YouTube.com/AmazingStrangersNYC)

Police Remove ‘Lotion Man’ From Zuccotti Park

Viral video star Danny “Lotion Man” Cline was removed from the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park by police early this morning and taken to New York Downtown Hospital for a psychological evaluation following days of allegedly disturbing behavior and an incident where he allegedly forcibly hugged a female protester and threw himself on top of someone’s tent. Footage of Mr. Cline has been used by conservative media outlets eager to show “the dark side of the Occupy Wall Street protests.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 11/03/11 11:21am

#OccupyWallStreet

Mayor Bloomberg (Getty)

Mayor Bloomberg Discusses Keeping Occupy Wall Street In Line

Mayor Bloomberg told reporters this morning that criminal activity at Occupy Wall Street is a “very high priority” and said he’s disturbed by reports protesters aren’t telling the police about crimes in Zuccotti Park. The Mayor also reaffirmed the demonstrator’s right to stay in the park because “there’s no ‘but’ when it comes to the right to express yourself.”

Though he supports the right to protest, Mayor Bloomberg cautioned that it can’t come at the “expense of others” and suggested a different strategy for Occupy Wall Street. “My personal view is, why dont you get out there and try to do something about the things that you dont like … rather than just yell and scream,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  Read More

By David Freedlander 11/01/11 2:25pm

#OccupyWallStreet

on October 31, 2011 in New York City.

Local Lawmakers Call for Crackdown at Occupy Wall Street

All four elected officials who represent the area around Zuccotti Park have written Mayor Mike Bloomberg asking him to enforce existing laws surrounding the Occupy Wall Street protests.

The lawmakers–Jerry Nadler on the federal level, Shelly Silver and Daniel Squadron in Albany, and Margaret Chin, the local City Councilmember– say they give their ”full support for the protesters’ First Amendment rights to speak and to assemble in Zuccotti Park. We sympathize with the movement’s message and we feel it is important that their voices be heard.” Read More