Perhaps ironically, this morning's Occupy Wall Street demonstrations—and the NYPD's reaction—resulted in headaches for members of the 99 percent struggling to cross police checkpoints and report to work or job interviews. Along with Gothamist's Chris Robbins, journalism student Patrick deHahn has been on the scene all day and he sent us these observations from the field:
With sidewalk closings, pedestrian detours, clogged walkways, people trying to get to work in Lower Manhattan were forced to navigate labyrinthine NYPD security precautions set up in response to demonstrations. Many pedestrians we spoke with were frustrated and confused as they discovered their usual route blocked by NYPD barricades, police on horseback, and also vehicular barricades. On top of everything else, some subway service was suspended because of the demonstrations.
Local residents with IDs who could prove they lived on Wall Street or on adjacent streets were allowed through NYPD checkpoints. "I was going to Broad Street and was asked for my identification by police officers," a litigation associate told us, insisting she did not have any opinion on the protests happening today. One salesperson on Broadway said her commute took 2.5 hours. “I told [my boss] three frickin’ times, it’s stupid," another employee told us.
"It was confusing," said Tara Brown, an employee with the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, as she waited at the checkpoint on Exchange and Broadway. "I was coming south into downtown. The sidewalk was blocked on Fulton, then around on Nassau. I had to enter on the other side of Exchange. I only got in because I have a worker ID."
To be sure, not everyone had a bad commute. Multiple people told us their travel in downtown was either okay or fine. One salesman who works on Broadway by Bowling Green said, "I took the car to work. It wasn't a bad commute today. I'm just finding about Occupy Wall Street now. It's not bad, but it won't accomplish anything."
