Four Occupy Wall Street protesters face felony charges after last week's "Occuparty" in an unfinished condo is Williamsburg. Three men and one woman are charged with riot, assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct according to information obtained from the Brooklyn DA's office by the Post. more ›

Yesterday, the New York Post reported that attorneys representing Occupy Wall Street had dropped their appeal against the city and Brookfield Properties which sought to allow camping in Zuccotti Park. The piece included triumphant quotes from attorney Randy Mastro, who was representing downtown businesses, as well as an attorney for the city. Alan Levine, the attorney representing Occupy Wall Street who argued the case in court on November 15, explained to us why he and his colleagues dropped the case: "We've gotten everything from the city and Brookfield that we wanted…they conceded that access to Zuccotti is unfettered." more ›

With a vote on the measures looming, organizations like NY Tech Meetup—the organizers of today's protest—are moving at maximum Mbps and seem to be connecting with Congress; the bills are losing sponsors faster than MySpace is losing users. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] What? You don't think this country needs "Austrian economics" to return to greatness? Why, if you just Wikipedia what that means, surely you'll—GAH! While Wikipedia and Reddit have gone black today to protest the anti-internet piracy bills SOPA and PIPA, the 20,000-strong NY Tech Meetup group has organized a protest today between 12:30 and 2 p.m. in front of the offices of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand—both supporters of the legislation. more ›

As part of a worldwide candlelight vigil tonight honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., Riverside Church in Morningside Heights is hosting performances by Patti Smith, Steve Earle, Stephan Said, Kozza Olantunji Babumba, and will include "inspirational words" from Yoko Ono, Russell Simmons, and Norman Siegel. The event, as envisioned by Stephan Said, begins at 7:00 p.m. as the protesters amass outside the church. The performances begin at 8:00 p.m. in the nave. more ›

Following tomorrow night's worldwide candlelight vigil for Martin Luther King Jr., a group of African American faith leaders will join Occupy Wall Street in a march at 10 a.m. Monday from the Financial District to Madison Square Garden in an effort to "reclaim the dream" and further the slain civil rights leader's fight for economic justice. more ›

Three protesters were arrested and four issued summonses yesterday in Grand Central Terminal, where approximately 150 demonstrators formed a "flash mob" to protest President Obama's signing of the National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA], a military spending bill that also authorizes the military to detain American citizens indefinitely without due process. Obama signed it in Hawaii on New Year's Eve, and it hasn't gotten that much attention in the media, but some people at least are a little alarmed about this, and they were expressing their outrage during rush hour yesterday. In this video, protester Lauren Digioia gets arrested around the two minute mark: more ›

[SPOILER UPDATE BELOW] Those of you heading home through Grand Central tonight are in for a surprise, courtesy Occupy Wall Street! Demonstrators will be in the terminal at 5 p.m. for "a spontaneous show of people power in reaction to Obama’s treasonous signing of the National Defense Authorization Act." And in addition to the spontaneous show, protesters are promising a mysterious "special treat." Hmmm, a Hipster Cop kissing booth? Twinkling finger puppet show? Tenting? more ›

[UPDATES BELOW] Exactly three months ago, a group of protesters converged on a privately-owned, public space in Lower Manhattan to protest economic injustice. At noon today, Occupy Wall Street will again attempt to retake private property, this time from a real estate giant that has been supportive of the movement since the beginning: Trinity Wall Street church. more ›

After over a hundred Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in the atrium of the World Financial Center, the NYPD ordered them to disperse, and arrested 17 of them for failing to comply. A video of the incident also shows Robert Stolarik, a credentialed photographer working for the New York Times, having his shot blocked repeatedly by NYPD officers. Now, another video has surfaced showing the NYPD arresting a man who appears to be protester Justin Wedes as he passively stands and films the police ordering protesters to leave. more ›

On Saturday, Parents for Occupy Wall Street led a Rally Against NYPD Bullies, to denounce "bullying and specifically the recent actions of NYPD Police Brutality." Kids painted signs and 5,000 paper hearts in Union Square, "one to represent each peaceful protest arrested over the past 3 months," and brought them to the gates of City Hall. But NYPD officers standing watch apparently didn't appreciate the arts and crafts, and began tearing them down to cries of "Shame!" and several children weeping. more ›

Parents for Occupy Wall Street has organized a Rally Against NYPD Bullies today from Union Square to Foley Square then on to City Hall. According to the group's website, from 11 a.m. to noon in Union Square, " A children's GA and open-mic will take place where children and students of all ages can voice their concerns about problems within their communities," along with "an arts and crafts session…to help make Anti-Bullying signs and paper hearts." If you thought the human mic was a mess before, wait until a few toddlers get started on how crappy Pedialyte tastes. more ›

Approximately 60 Occupy Wall Street protesters massed at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan just before midnight last night, where Law & Order: SVU had built a TV set that mimicked the encampment in Zuccotti Park before its eviction last month. Tarps, tents, handpainted signs bearing slogans of "We Are The 99%" and "Goldman $ucks," as well as a mock kitchen and People's Library made the fake camp very convincing. Protesters dashed through the park, defacing signs, complimenting the choice of tents and helping themselves to the food in the "kitchen." In short: it was a bizarre scene, and within the hour at least 50 NYPD officers showed up to rescind the show's permit, force the protesters from the park and order the production crew to dismantle the set. Here's video: more ›

Though Occupy Wall Street has spent much of their time amidst the canyons of the Financial District's "heroes," tomorrow's efforts are focused in East New York, as part of a nationwide day of action to call attention to the housing crisis that continues to plague much of the country. Occupy Our Homes will meet at the Pennsylvania Avenue subway stop in Brownsville at 1 p.m. for a tour of foreclosed homes, ending with a housewarming party for the families who are "taking these homes back for the community," despite impending foreclosure, and according to a release, volunteers from the many organizations involved will begin fixing up abandoned property. more ›

Remember the 19-year-old Occupy Wall Street demonstrator who claimed that he lost his virginity during the protests and was "amped for it?" His name is Brandon Watts, and he's the same protester who was seen bloodied in photos following protests on the two-month anniversary of the movement. City Room found that he had been arrested six times since arriving in New York from his home outside Philadelphia, and his family believes he's less of an activist and more of a troubled teenager. His attorney notes, "You see from the nature of the arrests that Brandon has accumulated, they are clearly arrests of a provocative young man who is seeking attention." more ›

Always with the marching! Thousands of demonstrators, many of them union members, are currently marching on Broadway, from Herald Square to Union Square, where the march will continue down to Zuccotti Park. The late-afternoon protest comes on the heels of a smaller march last night from Bryant Park to the Sheraton Hotel, where police corralled protesters in a "free speech zone" and refused to let them disperse until President Obama was done speaking at a fundraiser. Now they're at it again, and Mother Jones reporter Josh Harkinson says, "My office off Broadway is surrounded by police barricades, cop cars, and helicopters." more ›

Yesterday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly was heckled during a Q&A period of David Dinkins' graduate class at Columbia University. Kelly reportedly was unfazed by the outburst, which was in part spurred by alleged police misconduct during OWS protests, and made the sardonic comment, "Well, this is very intimidating." Now, a tipster sent us a video of activist Matthew Swaye following Kelly out of the building and trying to award him the "2011 Bull Connor Award." more ›

[Updates below] Several hundred protesters are currently marching near Baruch College at 24th Street at Lexington Avenue to demonstrate against the planned $300/year (over five years) tuition hikes that the City University Board of Trustees is expected to vote on this afternoon, as well as a need for "democratic accountability." There's a heavy NYPD presence, with police on scooters attempting to funnel the demonstrators into barricaded areas and off the street. more ›

While some of the Occupy Wall Street protesters have been able to retrieve the property they "abandoned" in Zuccotti Park during last week's raid, many of the items that were supposed to be transported to the Sanitation Department's Midtown storage depot weren't, or were damaged in the process. Most notably, the People's Library has only retrieved 1,099 books out of the total collection of about 4,000, and only 800 are still usable. At noon today, civil rights attorney Norman Siegel will join the president of the NYC Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild Gideon Oliver and members of the People's Library for a press conference at 260 Madison Ave. to address the city for destroying or losing thousands of books. more ›

Will no one think of the young bankers in these hard economic times? Between the third quarters of 2008 and 2011 the financial sector lost 110,000 employees between the ages of 20 and 34. DealBook spoke to one 28-year-old former Credit Suisse employee, who was hired and fired in a week's time. "I did everything right. I came into work every day, I put in long hours, and I still got punched in the face." more ›

A two-year veteran of the NYPD who has been "a part of the OWS detail for awhile" took to Reddit a few hours ago to answer questions about the occupation and the NYPD's response. Which side is responsible for the "tension" between the protesters and the police? "Both. We stepped in to prevent anything unlawful by setting up a perimeter, but protesters saw that as us moving in to shut them down, which is not what we came in to do." If cops are part of the 99%, why don't they join the protest? "I wouldn't join because if I happen to do something dumb in the crowd and get arrested for it I can lose my job...I know a few that have attended off duty." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] At roughly 3 p.m. yesterday, a crowd of NYPD officers in full riot gear mobilized on the front steps of Pace University in Lower Manhattan, ostensibly to protect the school from the Occupy Wall Street protesters. It's become a familiar site at Pace. Given its location, right between Zuccotti Park and Foley Square, students and faculty have seen a lot of the NYPD lately—and some say they're fed up with the police using their school as a staging ground. One student says she's even considering taking legal action against the school after a cop shoved her. more ›

Because taking the subway at rush hour isn't annoying enough, yesterday Occupy Wall Street protesters fanned out to various subway lines across the city to bring their message to commuters, in hopes of leading them, Pied Piper-style, up to the big rally in Foley Square. Over at the Broadway Junction station, on the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York in Brooklyn, the "people's mic" was turned up to 11: more ›