Hundreds of people gathered outside the 47th Precinct station house last night to protest Thursday's killing of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham at the hands of an NYPD officer. Marching from the family's home on East 229th Street, the crowd chanted "NYPD KKK" and "No Justice, no peace!" According to the Times, Graham's sister Leona Virgo addressed the crowd. "This is not just about Ramarley," she said. "This is about all young black men." more ›

Four Long Island teens were given suspensions from Riverhead High School this week for Tebowing (the act of getting down on one knee and praying, ala Denver Broncos very religious QB Tim Tebow). The kids thought the suspensions were unfair (two were later rescinded), and yesterday, more than a dozen students protested outside the school. And now Tebow himself has commented on the situation: "I think it does show courage from the kids, standing out and doing that, and some boldness.’’ more ›

Baruch College's afternoon classes (after 3 p.m.) are cancelled because the City University Board of Trustees is voting on tuitions hikes—$300/year for five years—and CUNY officials are concerned about another clash between protesting students and campus police. Still, students are taking the time to rally at 4 p.m., to criticize last week's chaotic confrontation as well as the hikes, "They make tuition increases over the summer knowing many students are not on campus, they continue to increase tuition, while cutting, resources (closing libraries, writing centers, etc), they have public meetings where students and faculty are denied admittance, then are beaten for attempting to peacefully assemble and have a voice." more ›

There is literally nothing we find more interesting than what current and former NYC mayors think about Occupy Wall Street. Obviously Mayor Bloomberg's bipolar responses to OWS have been well-documented, as he's wavered between damnation for any "class warfare" and respect for free speech. And Rudy Giuliani has made no secret of his hatred for “disgruntled bums” and “leftover hippies from the ’60s and ’70s.” Now, it's Ed Koch's turn to weigh in on OWS: "I’ve concluded the N.Y.P.D. acted superbly and made the people of the City of New York feel proud of the police officers’ professionalism under great provocation." more ›

After their last gathering coincided with the freak October snowstorm, Occupy Big Food is staging a rally at Union Square in front of the big red cube sculpture at 140 Broadway (across from Zuccotti Park) at 1 p.m. today as a "protest against the corporate feeding of America." The group are an off-shoot of Occupy Wall Street hoping to take meat, dairy, and other agricultural industries out of the hands of a few large corporations—just as OWS wants to take control of the financial sector from large corporations. more ›

As the dust settles on Occupy Wall Street's "day of action" on Thursday, allegations have emerged that some protesters harassed young kids as they walked to school with their parents near Wall Street in the morning. CBS reports that they saw one protester follow a father and his little daughter down one block, while others chanted "follow those kids!" One mother told CBS, "For them it’s horrible. They’re afraid of all the crowds. We’re not even able to get through. They’re just, he’s … very afraid now.” Watch their report below: more ›

[Updates below] After "about 100" Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to the Federal Reserve building last night, the Post reports that two of them began fighting each other near Liberty and Nassau Streets. According to the paper, "when police tried to intervene, one of the protesters suddenly punched the officer in the face," and was arrested at the scene. more ›

On October 1st, when Occupy Wall Street was still in its infancy, more than 700 protesters were arrested after OWS marched onto the Brooklyn Bridge. Protesters claimed that police lured them onto the roadway of the bridge—leading them there as an excuse to arrest en masse—while the NYPD maintains that they warned protesters they would be arrested for blocking the street. Now, a civil rights group has come to the aid of those arrested, petitioning Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. to drop all the charges. more ›

Next week will mark the second full month that Occupy Wall Street protesters have been encamped in Zuccotti Park. And ever since an aborted attempt to clean the park in early October, there hasn't been much movement to remove them from there. But it seems part of the reason for that may be because neither Mayor Bloomberg nor Brookfield Properties, who own the publicly-owned private space, want to take responsibility over enforcing the so-called park rules: "The city of New York enforces all the laws. It's not our business to enforce the laws. We have regulations for the site. That's a different thing. But as far as the laws are concerned, they enforce the laws," Brookfield chief John Zuccotti told the Post. more ›

Occupy Wall Street released a "statement of autonomy" yesterday (see the full text below) in which they clarify that OWS has no true political or organizational ties: "It is party-less, leaderless, by the people and for the people. It is not a business, a political party, an advertising campaign or a brand. It is not for sale." Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that protesters are sickness-less—the NY Times reports that germs are spreading throughout Zuccotti Park, and health officials are concerned. “It’s called Zuccotti lung. It’s a real thing,” said 28-year-old demonstrator Willie Carey. more ›

The Comfort Station has become an integral part of life for those living at Zuccotti Park, distributing clothing, blankets, tampons, shaving needs, and body wash to overnight occupiers. However, one item you'll have trouble finding there is condoms. "We don't have any on hand." said Victoria Tran-Trainh, a Pace University student from Boston who helps keep the operation running smoothly. "I guess the General Assembly decided that we shouldn't hand out condoms any more, that people shouldn't be having sex in the park. But a lot of people seem to be to giving them out anyway. If we had condoms here and someone wanted them, I wouldn't say no because that's stupid," she added. more ›

The NY Post continued their hit job on Occupy Wall Street today with a first-person piece from an undercover reporter embedded among the unwashed masses in Shurja Zuccotti Park. Their reporter spent the night talking with Kombucha drinkers, rape victims, and someone named “Conscience,” and came to the conclusion that "the parcel is now a sliver of madness." One person they didn't talk to? University of Alabama junior Henry Perkins, who is neither a smelly vagrant, an owner of an "Anarkitty," or filled with madness—he's earning college credit while protesting at Zuccotti. more ›

In the wake of an alleged rape and a sexual assault in Zuccotti Park that resulted in the arrest of an Occupy Wall Street protester earlier this week, the movement has erected a women-only safe-space sleeping tent. According to the Post the 16-square-foot metal-framed tent will be watched by female members of the de-escalation team, and can sleep 18 people. "This is all about safety in numbers," 24-year-old protester Becky Wartell says. more ›

The leaderless Occupy Wall Street protests have just gotten a little more orderly with a new online domain to call home: occupywallstreet.net. OWS member Jake DeGroot finalized the deal to purchase the domain name for $8,000, after it was met with approval at General Assembly at Zuccotti Park this week. “We would hesitate to use the term branding, necessarily, because of the corporate connotations to that, but there are advantages to the identity of the movement. It’s important that we have a full, robust Web presence and strategy,” DeGroot, a theatrical-lighting designer who lives in Queens, told the Wall Street Journal. more ›

Another week, another poll which suggests that a majority of New Yorkers agree with schoolchildren, tourists and Al Gore in supporting Occupy Wall Street—and even those who don't support it are understanding OWS's message. According to the new Quinnipiac poll, 58 - 28 percent agree with the views of the Wall Street protesters, and 60 percent understand the protesters' views "fairly well" or "very well." "Most New Yorkers, even upstaters and suburban voters, say they get the Wall Street protesters' message," Carroll said. "And by 2-1, voters agree with the complaints about bankers and Wall Streeters," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. more ›

Just how "leaderless" is Occupy Wall Street? According to Fox News, the thousands of Communists, anarchists, eco-feminists, malingerers, and professional protesters taking part in OWS are actually being guided by a reconstructed ACORN. The "fair and balanced" news organization alleges that OWS is being funded and controlled by former ACORN activists under new names who are using shady practices to collect money for OWS under false pretenses. Will this turn out like that time that a certain prominent news organization alleged George Soros was funding OWS? more ›