One protester at Foley Square, Nate Barchus, 23, said the eviction was likely to galvanize supporters, particularly because a series of gatherings had already been planned for Thursday, the protest’s two-month anniversary.
“This,” he said, referring to the early-morning sweep, “reminds everyone who was occupying exactly why they were occupying.”
At the park they had occupied since mid-September, workers using power washers blasted water over the stone that covers the ground. Soon the park caught the attention of people passing by on their way to work who had become accustomed to seeing the protesters’ tents and tarps.
The operation to clear the park had begun near the Brooklyn Bridge, where the police gathered before moving on to surround the park. The protesters rallied around an area known as the kitchen, near the middle of the park, and began putting up makeshift barricades with tables and pieces of scrap wood.
Over the next two hours, dozens of protesters left the park while a core group of about 100 dug in around the food area. Many locked arms and defied police orders to leave. By 3 a.m., dozens of officers in helmets, watched over by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, closed in on those who remained. The police pulled them out one by one and handcuffed them. Most were led out without incident.
The Police Department’s chief spokesman, Paul J. Browne, told The Associated Press that 70 people had been arrested in the park, including some who had chained themselves together.
The officers had gathered between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges earlier and rode in vans to the one-square-block park. They entered about 1 a.m.
As they did, dozens of protesters linked arms and shouted “No retreat, no surrender,” “This is our home” and “Barricade!”
Despite the amount of strong-arming they did and the amount of money we’re sure this cost NYC tax payers, it sounds like the Mayor’s office and NYPD never intended this to put an end of the protests though.
And as of 8 o’clock this morning, the park was re-opened and protesters were allowed back in while they wait for a court order. SMH, what a mess this is all becoming! Which makes the message of the Occupy Movement get lost in the BS of scuffles and struggles with the police…
See what they’re doing there? More pics from last night below.
