Bloomberg strikes tougher tone on Occupy Wall Street

City may take "action" against protesters disrupting quality of life

BY JONATHAN LEMIRE 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, November 2 2011, 12:32 PM

Mariela Lombard for New York Daily News

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg strikes his toughest tone yet against the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

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Bloom and Doom

Should Mayor Bloomberg crack down on Occupy Wall Street?

	Yes, they are a public nuisance and are becoming increasingly violent. It's time to go.
	No, they have every right to stay as long as they abide by the park rules.

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Mayor Bloomberg struck a tougher tone with the Occupy Wall Street protestors Wednesday - and said the city might be forced to "take actions" at Zuccotti Park.

Bloomberg said the city must listen to the residents and business owners near the protest site who are starting to loudly complain about the demonstrators.

"This isn't an occupation of Wall Street," Bloomberg told reporters. "It's an occupation of a growing, vibrant residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan and it's really hurting small businesses and families."

Bloomberg's harsh assessment came a day after he received a letter from Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and other local lawmakers demanding City Hall to crack down on quality-of-life violations at Zuccotti Park.

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The mayor, who spoke after painting the New York City marathon finish line in Central Park, said the city is closely watching the situation at the protest site - and could step up its response.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation to preserve public safety and to guarantee the rights of all people in the city," Bloomberg said, "and no one should think that we won't take actions that we think are appropriate when we think they are appropriate."

The FDNY confiscated generators and fuel from the park last Friday, saying the flammable items posed a safety risk.

The Silver-led group complained about public urination, non-stop drumming and barricades along Broadway — and demanded the city step up its cleaning efforts.

Protestors have insisted the park is already clean and fear the safety concerns are a ruse to evict the demonstrators from their space. City Hall was non-committal Tuesday about increased enforcement.

The city and Brookfield Partners, the owner of the park, backed off a threat to do a full-scale scrubbing of the protest site last month.

Bloomberg, whose tone has become seemingly less sympathetic to the protestors as the occupation continues, said Tuesday the demonstrators should be blaming Congress — not Wall Street — for the nation's economic woes

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bloomberg-strikes-tougher-tone-occupy-wall-street-article-1.971097#ixzz1cZtiaAe5