Sunday, October 16, 2011

[Updated] Occupy Saturday

John Penley and a handful of protestors spent the day in Tompkins Square Park yesterday... before moving to the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue A when the Park closed at midnight...



[Top photos by Bobby Williams]

We understand that more people may have joined the Tompkins Square Park group. According to a reader, "Around midnight or 1, I was woken up by a parade of Occupiers. I guess they were coming from Washington Square Park, and heading for Tompkins Square Park ... being followed by the cops. Maybe 50 of them?"

Most of the Occupy Wall Street protests took place yesterday in Times Square, where Gothamist reported that the NYPD arrested 42 people.

There were also protestors yesterday in Washington Square Park, where some from Times Square joined in for an after-party and meeting. Bobby Williams spent part of the day there, and sent along these photos...








Also yesterday, DNAinfo reports that the NYPD arrested 20 people at the Chase branch on Astor Place. Protestors were on the sidewalk telling people to close their Chase accounts. Per DNA: "We were sitting here and the police came with paddy wagons and people started to leave," said Maeve Dwyer, 18, a Bard College student. "But then, we said we were not going to leave."

[Updated: Another source at the scene said that they weren't any arrests made at this Chase branch.]

Back at Tompkins Square Park, we heard that someone superglued the locks to the Park last night.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The people in TSP are not helping. There are very legitimate concerns that the OWS crowd has but by jumpingon the bandwagon the TSP crowd is discrediting them. Reminds me of a classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzDN74rMTzE

Big Brother said...

The occupy TSP photos are just plain sad.

Marty Wombacher said...

I got there kind of late and didn't see anything going on, so I ended up occupying a stool at Lucy's bar with friends.

Anonymous said...

I like Marty's way of thinking!

VH McKenzie said...

I think it was the use of the word "occupy" in reference to TSP that seemed ridiculous in the first place. To occupy a place as a form of protest seemed to me to be a way of interfering with, or impeding, the daily routine of a power structure with whom you had some kind of beef.

"Occupy Wall Street" - yes, understood.

"Occupy Tompkins Square Park"? Just stupid, preaching to the choir. It seemed to waffle between an "occupation" and a picnic by protesters. The latter would make sense, the former was just dumb.

I expect that the 1 per centers who may now live in the EV don't spend much time in TSP -- they've got rooftop terraces and private gardens and country homes and, I would imagine, don't care to rub shoulders with the rats and the crusties in TSP.

Guess we had a lot of hand wringing about this "occupation" for nothing. Thank goodness.

john penley said...

Preaching to the choir is full of shit. The mob of mostly white upscale yuppies streaming past us on Ave A last night absolutely do not give a F about OWS or the desperate underclass in America. About Occupy Tompkins we never expected the bulk of the march to arrive at the park until midnight. For some reason Det. Hernandez and the 9th Pct. were unable to lock the entrance at 7th St. and as they tried to figure out how to lock the gate a crowd of about 500 [way more than 50 as the march filled 2 blocks] showed up on 7th and A. Because the cops had the entrance blocked the march turned down A and continued on blocking traffic and one masked man even jumped on a limo. Great fun was had by all. People who say the bulk of white yuppies that dominate the neighborhood support OWS are absolutely nuts and delusional. They don't. Soon the angry underclass is going to make them realize that change is coming and their upscale brain dead zombie control is going to be taken from them one way or the other. Mark my words class war is in the air.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

I agree that OTSP was poor messaging, but found the number of anti-OWS rants on that 119 comment thread from the other day oddly disturbing considering where we all are.

On a related note, my favorite sign down there today read, "We're here, we're unclear, get used to it. - OWS"

VH McKenzie said...

@ john penley: "The mob of mostly white upscale yuppies streaming past us on Ave A last night absolutely do not give a F about OWS or the desperate underclass in America."

True.

And they probably don't live in the East Village either. They only come down here to party.

But you go, gurl.

Anonymous said...

Amazing that a movement that's supposed to welcome and be open to all would turn into a war on yuppies. The movement is about something much bigger, right?

Anonymous said...

the yippie pie man dumped talcum powder on geraldo rivera today at occupy wall street downtown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr-25nxpmbw

Anonymous said...

Can I say I love VH McKenzie? We need to hear from more women on these issues, not just a bunch of old white dudes who are used to running the protest movement and now feel left out! And if you didn't stick it out in the East Village why are you complaining about the yuppies, man? You don't even live here! I live like an animal with roommates but I didn't leave. I love it here and I am not leaving my home no matter how much easier it is to live in parts of Brooklyn or outside of the city! Love live the people of the East Village!

Anonymous said...

there wuz no action in this action at all lots of latte and poodles who's park these days .....

VH McKenzie said...

@Anon 7:28 - love you, too!