[UPDATE] Tomorrow's Occupy Wall Street March To Be "Biggest Ever," But Park Owners' Ire Grows

Zuccotti Park yesterday morning, via Occupy Wall Street

Following the arrest of 700 protestors on the Brooklyn Bridge this weekend, the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to pick up steam thanks to the support of unions like TWU Local 100 and 32NJ SEIU. Tomorrow's march at 4:30 from City Hall to Wall Street will be the "biggest yet," TWU president John Samuelsen tells the Daily News. It also coincides with a massive student walk-out. But the caretakers and part-owners of Zuccotti Park, Brookfield Office Properties, seem to be exasperated at the continued presence of the occupiers. "Lying down on benches, sitting areas or walkways is likewise prohibited," the company said in a statement. "Unfortunately, many of the individuals currently occupying the grounds are ignoring these basic yet necessary requirements."

The release goes on to say that while "Brookfield recognizes people’s right to peaceful protest, they "also have an obligation to ensure that the park remains safe, clean, and accessible to everyone." It also notes that the park hasn't been cleaned since September 16, one day before the protests began, and that "sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels."

Patrick Bruner, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, told us, "We've been attempting to address the concerns of the community by going to community [Board 1] meetings, and we're making sure their concerns are met." As for engaging Brookfield: "Several efforts have been made to that end, and we're still trying, but we haven't spoken to a representative there." It's unclear how much headway they're making with CB 1, as a DNAinfo report shows that noise complaints continue to be a problem, and the "human mic" can't get any quieter.

Elsewhere, sizable Occupy movements have cropped up in Boston and Chicago, among other US cities, and over a thousand people are supporting a pledge to occupy the London Stock Exchange on October 15 (albeit on Facebook). Joshua James of Tampa, Florida, sold his car and quit his manufacturing job to travel to Zuccotti Park on Saturday, and plans to take what he learns here back home. "I'm learning how it's done here so I eventually go back and set up shop to occupy Tampa." Bruner said that a few people had gone to Boston to assist the nascent movement there. "We've talked about instituting a sister solidarity committee to coordinate those efforts, but we don't have any concrete training program."

Last night, Deepak Chopra visited Zuccotti park shortly before the demonstrators' daily General Assembly meeting at 7 p.m., to give the group something to meditate on. "Put your hand on your heart and just ask yourself internally, "What kind of world do I want to live in?" Chopra said. He continues: "Now ask yourself how can I make that happen? Simple anger will only perpetuate what's already out there."

Bruner told us that a concert is planned in the park for Saturday, but he wouldn't specify who was playing or when (wonder why?) We've also heard rumors that Michael Franti is supposed to show up tonight, but if there's one thing we've learned about rumors: they're not worth waiting 3 hours for.

[UPDATE] According to the Occupy Wall Street camp, the protest has been moved to Foley Square "so we can get a permit with zero risk of arrest."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Christopher Robbins in News on October 4, 2011 4:03 PM

Comments [rss]

bobbyjfromtheuk12

Oh, and the guy I mentioned earlier- Jesus- He seemed to have got his message out pretty good without a PA.

bobbyjfromtheuk12

Jesus, has anyone heard of a rolled up newspaper? People have been making public speeches in the open for centuries. Got to be an easier way than this Mike Check BS, surely?

bggb

Litter is definitely grounds for arrest.

/NYPD'd

EdwardAmame

It's a privately owned public space which is kind of ironic since Occupy Wall Street could be generally described as protesting the corporatizing of the American public square. BTW, there are over 500 parks located on private property in NYC. All are, by law, accessible to/usable by the public.

whitecastlerock

Oh no-LITTER! They must be stopped. Maybe Bluto of the TWU will move them underground to the subway stations. No one seems to gives a shit how filthy they are now...

SFNY

Bottom line is that a multi-national real estate corporation is getting ticked off (and concern trolling "oh the sanitation!") for one reason and one reason only: because the NYC Gov & PD won't allow demonstrators demonstrate on public property.

It's not ironic, but something about that feels pretty good...

Colonel_Ingus

Quality irony at last.

theevilerone

It's still private property. Sure, through around the "multi-national real estate corporation" label, but if people camped out on your front lawn, you'd be pissed. They could make reasonable efforts, but at the end of the day, your grass is trampled and it smells funny. The group has their right to peaceful assembly and I'm glad that an alternative venue has been found that can better accommodate them/relieve their permit issues.

fixilator

I've been there quite a bit, and they are definitely respecting the space. Constantly picking up, sweeping up... If I owned a public park like that, I'd be thrilled it was being put to such maximum use. But I guess I'm just weird like that.

theevilerone

I used to work in that building. As respectful as you might think you are being, the tenant holders might feel differently. They're evil corporate drones, no doubt, but they might miss part of the space they are, undoubtedly, paying for. (They pay for sq ft of their offices, I know, but RE holdings like that like to charge a premium for the "amenities.")

Marc Hug

"sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels." bullshit. i have been down there and watched them clean up that park themselves. they are a bunch of kind, loving, and considerate people of all ages and races.

Sugarbop

It's a freakin disgusting mess down there. I walked by this morning on my way to WORK and it smelled particularily rancid.

Son_of_Spam

Who's going to clean up all of the paint that's on the concrete from all of the sign making? If Occupy Wall St has taught us anything, it's that rain showers A) don't make BO go away, and B) don't clean up oil-based paints.

Garrett Williams

Yeah, paint on the concrete is definitely the biggest thing to worry about here.

Son_of_Spam

Of course it's not. Corporate greed, police brutality...the list goes on. But take my reply out of context like you did, and now who's grasping at straws?

When the claim is that park occupiers are "considerate people of all ages and races" despite the proof that they've defaced private property, something is amiss, and the OWS PR machine rivals that of some corporate entities...resorting to flat-out lying to make themselves look better.

JeanneNYC

Obviously they AREN'T cleaning up after themselves. You only have to look at the picture in this article to see that they've completely trashed the park.

Garrett Williams

Um, the picture in this article shows tarps and blankets. It's not even a little bit "trashed." Maybe you should go check it out for yourself before being judgmental.