Occupy Wall Street: Anti-capitalist protesters demonstrate against Wall St., corporate greed

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Hundreds of anti-capitalist protesters have flooded the area around Wall Street to demonstrate against corporate greed. The Occupy Wall Street activists have occupied the financial district for nearly 2 months by camping out in nearby Zuccotti Park. Veterans joined the 99% demonstrating at Wall St.on Nov. 2. They marched past the New york Stock Exchange to declare their support for the ongoing protests.

Published: 10/26/2011 10:02:08

Credits: Craig Warga/New York Daily News

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/occupy-wall-street-anti-capitalist-protesters-demonstrate-wall-st-corporate-greed-gallery-1.963450#ixzz1caECJnpi

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.

TAKE OUR POLL

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.

PHOTOS: WHAT'S IT REALLY LIKE INSIDE ZUCCOTTI PARK?

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

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF OAKLAND FROM THE OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION

1 November 2011 – Oakland, Ca.

We represent the 645 police officers who work hard every day to protect the citizens of Oakland. We, too, are the 99% fighting for better working conditions, fair treatment and the ability to provide a living for our children and families. We are severely understaffed with many City beats remaining unprotected by police during the day and evening hours.

As your police officers, we are confused.

On Tuesday, October 25th, we were ordered by Mayor Quan to clear out the encampments at Frank Ogawa Plaza and to keep protesters out of the Plaza. We performed the job that the Mayor’s Administration asked us to do, being fully aware that past protests in Oakland have resulted in rioting, violence and destruction of property.

Then, on Wednesday, October 26th, the Mayor allowed protesters back in – to camp out at the very place they were evacuated from the day before.

To add to the confusion, the Administration issued a memo on Friday, October 28th to all City workers in support of the “Stop Work” strike scheduled for Wednesday, giving all employees, except for police officers, permission to take the day off.

That’s hundreds of City workers encouraged to take off work to participate in the protest against “the establishment.” But aren’t the Mayor and her Administration part of the establishment they are paying City employees to protest? Is it the City’s intention to have City employees on both sides of a skirmish line?

It is all very confusing to us.

Meanwhile, a message has been sent to all police officers: Everyone, including those who have the day off, must show up for work on Wednesday. This is also being paid for by Oakland taxpayers. Last week’s events alone cost Oakland taxpayers over $1 million.

The Mayor and her Administration are beefing up police presence for Wednesday’s work strike they are encouraging and even “staffing,” spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for additional police presence – at a time when the Mayor is also asking Oakland residents to vote on an $80 parcel tax to bail out the City’s failing finances.

All of these mixed messages are confusing.

We love Oakland and just want to do our jobs to protect Oakland residents. We respectfully ask the citizens of Oakland to join us in demanding that our City officials, including Mayor Quan, make sound decisions and take responsibility for these decisions. Oakland is struggling – we need real leaders NOW who will step up and lead – not send mixed messages. Thank you for listening.

Occupy Oakland: Will the General Strike Have Legs?

By JASON MOTLAGH / OAKLAND Tuesday, Nov. 01, 2011

Occupy Oakland protesters and their tents line a plaza near city hall in Oakland, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2011

Noah Berger / AP

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Ugly images from last week's clash in front of city hall have put authorities on the defensive and energized the Occupy Oakland crowd, whose encampment continued to swell over the weekend. Residents used wooden pallets to begin rebuilding the tent city razed by cops on Oct. 25. The site features everything from free medical supplies and new-age treatments to vegan food and day care. At a curbside open-mike gathering, several people decried the police violence with angry rants and poems. Most of those present were looking forward to the Nov. 2 citywide general strike. "To the streets! Shut down Oakland. If we cannot live, we will not work!" read one of the posters plastered on downtown walls.

The plaza in front of city hall belongs to the protesters again. But not everyone is pleased about it — despite Oakland's proud tradition of civil disobedience. Frustrations are most acute among small-business owners downtown who, under normal circumstances, must contend with lean foot traffic in a poor California city with high unemployment. While many local merchants have thrown their support behind the protests, a significant number are upset over the loss of revenue incurred over the past two weeks, insisting that would-be customers have been intimidated by the charged atmosphere.(See pictures of the Occupy Wall Street protests.)

"Business has been horrible. These protests have really hurt us," says Trang Tran, 30, manager of Saigon Restaurant on the edge of the plaza. "Some days, no one comes to lunch." He estimates that patrons have dropped off by 75% since Occupy Oakland kicked off. He grumbles over the eyesore of the portable toilets out front. Moji Ghafouri, the owner of nearby Caffe Teatro, says protesters smashed one of her windows. She asserts that city authorities are to blame for failing to enforce rules they created.

City merchants readily recall having to shut down when a pair of 2010 demonstrations against the police killing of Oscar Grant, an unarmed African-American male, turned violent. In March of that year, another protest in response to education cuts closed sections of Interstate 880 when scores of marchers moved onto the freeway during the evening rush hour.(See a brief history of the general strike.)

What's more, some blue collar citizens far removed from the plaza complain that precious funds are being squandered on the movement in a city that has endured heavy budget cuts in recent years. José, 57, the manager of a copy shop in West Oakland, would rather see limited resources spent on a struggling education system that may soon lose about 15 schools. Better policing in his neighborhood would also help. "Every other day I have to clean graffiti off these walls," he says.

Protesters counter that they are not the ones who wasted taxpayer dollars by deploying riot police and cleanup crews, insisting that they can look after their own turf. Bob, 25, a part-time teacher giving information to passersby at the plaza, says camp residents have gotten better about managing volatile elements that were an issue at the outset. On three occasions in the past day, he notes, individuals acting violently were promptly and peacefully removed. "We need to be tolerant but can also police our own if need be," he says. "We're not going anywhere."

Indeed, the movement is digging in for the long haul, with a Wednesday general strike aimed at consolidating the past week's gains. At a nearby table, Sonya, 23, from Yonkers, N.Y., stenciled, "Ask Me Why I'm Striking" onto T-shirts with spray paint for a gaggle of children who had visited with their parents. The public-health intern could sympathize with merchants reluctant to lose a day's income. "It's scary to leave work for a day, to have no business for a day," she says. "But in the long term, it's small businesses and workers that are getting screwed over. They should weigh the long-term benefit with short-term costs — it's really about the big picture."(See 7 celebrities who support the Occupy protests.)

So far, unions, teachers' associations and students have expressed support for the strike, though some are on the fence about whether they will take part on such short notice. Less certain is the participation of small businesses that may back the movement in spirit but are reluctant to close their doors for economic reasons.

"Small businesses like mine just can't afford to be closed," says Alvin Collier, 52, the owner of Alvin's Automotive Recycling in West Oakland. He says he's not against the protests but must prioritize the needs of his seven employees, who rely on their income to pay bills at the start of a new month. Meanwhile, across the street from the occupied plaza, James Hartig, 29, a clerk at De Lauer's 24-hour newsstand, says the business has benefited from an influx of late-night coffee seekers among the protesters. He says that despite the call for solidarity with the general strike, he expects the newsstand to remain open as usual.

Then there are those willing to observe the strike, even if it hurts already-slow business a little more. Steve, 25, an employee at a downtown store called Oaklandish, which sells homegrown art and clothing celebrating the city, concedes that "a lot of people are walking around here, but less are coming in [to shop]." "It's kind of awkward," he says. Nevertheless, says the store's manager, Aaron, 28, "we're in the thick of it." He says Oaklandish's doors will not open on Wednesday in support of the strike.

But the manager has one caveat: music will be played into the streets, he says, in homage to the city's last general strike — in 1946 — when unions shut Oakland down for 56 hours. That year, bars were permitted to stay open but could serve only beer. Jukeboxes could play but had to be moved out onto sidewalks for the public to enjoy.

See the lessons of Occupy Oakland.

See TIME's video on the standoff at Occupy Oakland.