After Shock Raid, OWS Attempts to Carry On at Zuccotti Park
Additional reporting by Miles Kohrman, Kimberly Lightbody and Daniel Gomez.
In the hours following a hectic morning for Occupy Wall Street, demonstrators gradually reconvened at Zuccotti Park on Tuesday, determined to recapture lost momentum at the movement’s birthplace.
Tensions were high at the former “Liberty Square,” which showed little sign of the two-month-long occupation that triggered an international movement. But members of the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly insisted that, despite the early morning police raids and the court rulings banning camping on park property, the movement is not over.
“Our movement is not about having a physical location,” said Tyler Combelic, a media representative for Occupy Wall Street. “We are about economic justice, representation and equality. We are changing the narrative and broadening the mindset on things that should have been changed a long time ago. You cannot evict that.”
Hundreds of NYPD officers, equipped with riot gear, charged into Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning. Police arrested over 200 people while evacuating protesters from the occupation site, a decision that Mayor Michael Bloomberg said was “mine and mine alone.”
"As the number of protesters has grown, this has created an intolerable situation,” Bloomberg said outside City Hall on Tuesday. "Protesters have had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bags. Now they will have to occupy the space with the power of their arguments."
Late Tuesday afternoon, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Stallman issued a statement declaring that protesters "have not demonstrated that they have a First Amendment right to remain in Zuccotti Park,” denying their request for a restraining order against the city’s forced decampment.
“This has not stopped the movement,” civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland told reporters. “The 99 percent will continue to show up, will continue to express themselves, and will continue to move forward in social change.”
Since the decision, NYPD officers have allowed demonstrations to continue. They have placed fences around the park, however, and individuals attempting to enter the site are subject to inspections. Those carrying tents, large bags and sleeping bags are no longer legally allowed on the premises.
Moments after the official court ruling was read aloud via “human microphone,” Gerardo Herrera, a protester taken from his tent and arrested during the raid, was released from police custody. After spending 14 hours in a jail cell, he ran through the crowds and threw himself into the arms of his friends.
“I lost my apartment because I couldn’t afford my rent,” Herrera said, trying to catch his breath. “Now, I can’t even get a decent night of sleep. They took everything from me. I was kidnapped. And now I’m homeless.”
Three local churches — Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan, Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village, and the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on the Upper West Side — have offered to provide overnight housing for the evicted demonstrators. Yet community activists believe there is much that still needs to be done for those facing similar situations.
“Some can’t afford homes, and some don’t have homes at all,” said Jimmy McMillan, anti-poverty advocate and founder of the New York-based Rent Is Too Damn High Party. “I’m taking a deep breath and showing them I’m on their side. Big daddy’s got to show some love.”
Demonstrators’ distrust for the NYPD was palpable, with some shouting at officers as they approached police checkpoints to reenter Zuccotti Park. One such protester, Donald, who chose not to reveal his last name, yelled “Get your goddamn hands off of me!” at police as they inspected him.
“I can see the grins behind their riot helmets,” he said after passing through the inspection gate. “It’s sick. And these guys tell us that we’re not following the law.”
“There is such a unanimous feeling of confusion here,” said Megan Hanley, a New York University graduate student holding up an “Occupy” banner near the center of the park. “It’s very difficult trying to figure out what the rules are when people are suspecting that police are making it up as they go along. Without transparency and information to back up decisions, of course there will be confusion.”
As night fell on the crowd gathered in the park, the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly held an emergency meeting. Facilitators encouraged support for “friends” taken into police custody and urged fellow protesters not to provoke police officers. In addition, many stressed that occupiers remain present in the park for as long as possible.
“Cops think the power looks like shouting orders,” the group shouted in unison. “We do things differently here. We use the consensus process. We create space to hear as many voices as possible… So let’s get to work.”
Tensions were high at the former “Liberty Square,” which showed little sign of the two-month-long occupation that triggered an international movement. But members of the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly insisted that, despite the early morning police raids and the court rulings banning camping on park property, the movement is not over.
“Our movement is not about having a physical location,” said Tyler Combelic, a media representative for Occupy Wall Street. “We are about economic justice, representation and equality. We are changing the narrative and broadening the mindset on things that should have been changed a long time ago. You cannot evict that.”
Hundreds of NYPD officers, equipped with riot gear, charged into Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning. Police arrested over 200 people while evacuating protesters from the occupation site, a decision that Mayor Michael Bloomberg said was “mine and mine alone.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Stallman issued a statement declaring that protesters "have not demonstrated that they have a First Amendment right to remain in Zuccotti Park,” denying their request for a restraining order against the city’s forced decampment.
“This has not stopped the movement,” civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland told reporters. “The 99 percent will continue to show up, will continue to express themselves, and will continue to move forward in social change.”
Since the decision, NYPD officers have allowed demonstrations to continue. They have placed fences around the park, however, and individuals attempting to enter the site are subject to inspections. Those carrying tents, large bags and sleeping bags are no longer legally allowed on the premises.
Moments after the official court ruling was read aloud via “human microphone,” Gerardo Herrera, a protester taken from his tent and arrested during the raid, was released from police custody. After spending 14 hours in a jail cell, he ran through the crowds and threw himself into the arms of his friends.
“I lost my apartment because I couldn’t afford my rent,” Herrera said, trying to catch his breath. “Now, I can’t even get a decent night of sleep. They took everything from me. I was kidnapped. And now I’m homeless.”
Three local churches — Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan, Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village, and the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on the Upper West Side — have offered to provide overnight housing for the evicted demonstrators. Yet community activists believe there is much that still needs to be done for those facing similar situations.
“Some can’t afford homes, and some don’t have homes at all,” said Jimmy McMillan, anti-poverty advocate and founder of the New York-based Rent Is Too Damn High Party. “I’m taking a deep breath and showing them I’m on their side. Big daddy’s got to show some love.”
Demonstrators’ distrust for the NYPD was palpable, with some shouting at officers as they approached police checkpoints to reenter Zuccotti Park. One such protester, Donald, who chose not to reveal his last name, yelled “Get your goddamn hands off of me!” at police as they inspected him.
“I can see the grins behind their riot helmets,” he said after passing through the inspection gate. “It’s sick. And these guys tell us that we’re not following the law.”
“There is such a unanimous feeling of confusion here,” said Megan Hanley, a New York University graduate student holding up an “Occupy” banner near the center of the park. “It’s very difficult trying to figure out what the rules are when people are suspecting that police are making it up as they go along. Without transparency and information to back up decisions, of course there will be confusion.”
As night fell on the crowd gathered in the park, the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly held an emergency meeting. Facilitators encouraged support for “friends” taken into police custody and urged fellow protesters not to provoke police officers. In addition, many stressed that occupiers remain present in the park for as long as possible.
“Cops think the power looks like shouting orders,” the group shouted in unison. “We do things differently here. We use the consensus process. We create space to hear as many voices as possible… So let’s get to work.”
More by this Author
Featured Articles
