Today in La Plaza Cultural community garden: Wall Street Farmers March

From the EV Grieve inbox ...

To participate in the Occupy Wall Street Farmers March join us at the below events:

THE FARMERS MARCH

A gathering of farmers, community gardeners, food workers and activists for dialogue, solidarity and solutions to corporate control of our food system.

2 p.m. — Public gathering and panel discussion at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden, East Ninth Street at Avenue C. Speakers include:

• Karen Washington — Founder of City Farms Market and board member at NYC-based organization Just Food.
• Jim Gerritsen — a Maine organic farmer and lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Monsanto and was named one of 25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World by Utne Reader in 2011.
• Severine von Tscharner Flemming — Food advocate and producer of the film “Green Horns”, profiling young farmer entrepreneurs.
• Jalal Sabur — Founding member of the Freedom Food Alliance, an alliance of black urban communities with black rural farmers.
• Mike Callicrate — Colorado rancher, entrepreneur and rural political activist, was a lead plaintiff in the 1990s against the world's largest beef packer, IBP, now owned by Tyson Foods.
• Andrew Faust — World-renowned permaculture expert and educator.

4 p.m. — March toward Zuccotti Park

Frances Goldin could kick a cop in the balls and not get arrested, probably

[Andrew Burton/Getty Images]

Frances Goldin, founder of the Cooper Square Committee and catalyst for getting the rent reduced at the St. Mark's Bookshop, was among the many Occupy Wall Street protestors yesterday. The 87-year-old literary agent is a longtime activist who has been arrested nine times. She is quoted in a feature at MSNBC today:

"And I was sure I'd be arrested today, but the cops were determined because of the bad publicity for them, to not arrest an 87-year-old woman."

"I said [to an officer], 'What if I socked you in the eye?,' and he said, 'I'd give you a free shot,'" Goldin said. "'Well, what if I kneed you in the groin?,' and he said, 'No, you're not going to get arrested!'"

And here she is on NBC New York...

NYPD keeping a watchful eye on Tompkins Square Park

Multiple readers have pointed out a day- (and night-) long NYPD presence outside Tompkins Square Park...

We hear that they're keep an eye out for roving bands of displaced Occupiers... who were ousted from Zuccotti Park early this morning...

Photos by Bobby Williams.

3 months ago in Tompkins Square Park: Planning for Occupy Wall Street

Here's our post from Aug. 12 ...

The planning to occupy Wall Street continues tomorrow at 5 p.m. with a meeting in Tompkins Square Park...

Interesting to look back at all this... Bob Arihood covered the meeting. He noted the following:

A number of individuals , in considerable ignorance of the law of the land, complained that their pictures were being taken . We were lectured quite arrogantly and condescendingly at length to respect the privacy of individuals .

TSP isn't the dorm rec room or the recitation hall folks , it is public property , public space .There is no expectation of privacy here , especially when engaged in a political act .

Crosby, Nash & Occupy Wall Street

Dave on 7th was at Zuccotti Park this afternoon, where David Crosby and Graham Nash played a few songs for the assembled...

[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.

Tompkins Square Park, 1:57 p.m., Oct. 15

[Photo by jdx]

Occupy Tompkins Square Park just getting started...

Reminders this weekend: Occupy Tompkins Square Park

[Photo by Paul DeRienzo via Facebook]

As you may have heard, there are are plans, spearheaded by John Penley, for a peaceful demonstration starting with a picnic in the Park at noon today... Via Facebook, I asked Penley last night if the rally was still a go. "Hell yes."

He left this comment on the previous Occupation thread:

"People will be at the park at noon. Some will be leaving for Times Square and some will not. It is my understanding that Judith Malina and the Living Theater will lead a march from Times Square to Union Square and then on to Tompkins Square. Anyone who can bring food to share, drums, musical instruments, art supplies anything else you can think of to make this a fun and noisy but peaceful occupation."

Meanwhile, did you notice that park officials put up new signs around the Park pointing out the curfew...?

[Dave on 7th]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Occupy Tompkins Square Park (119 comments)

Occupy Tompkins Square Park this weekend

Demonstrators from Occupy Wall Street will be headed to the East Village on Saturday. John Penley is organizing this event set to start Saturday at noon and end Sunday at noon. Via Facebook:

Picnic starts at noon. General Assemblies at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Bring food, sleeping gear, drums, guitars, banners, signs and your friends. In memory of Monica aka Catherine Shay, Bob Arihood and Terry Taylor [the homeless Tompkins Square activist who died in 1994].

"I talked to about 100 people from the neighborhood at Zucotti Park [Sunday] and they were all thinking about the same thing and immediately said, 'Hell yes let's do it,'" Penley told me via Facebook.

Also, Penley said, the presence of the protestors will draw attention to the Park's legacy of activism.

“One of the reasons that we want to do this is to educate the new people living in the neighborhood about what went on in Tompkins Square Park in the '80s and the '90s, and the police response to it,” he told Patrick Hedlund at DNAinfo.

Planning meetings for Occupy Wall Street were held in Tompkins Square Park in August.

More details later this week...

Occupy Wall Street at Washington Square Park today

Bobby Williams was there....

[Updated] Radiohead [NOT] playing at Occupy Wall Street

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Radiohead will play a surprise show for #occupywallstreet today at four in the afternoon. Press conference at one in the afternoon.

[Updated] Radiohead management says the band isn't playing, per multiple media outlets. Per Gawker: "what might happen if Radiohead doesn't show up could be more interesting than if they did."

[Updated 3:12 from Occupy Wall Street's spokesperson] "The concert is unconfirmed. Sorry about this — I'm in the dark as much as you as to what's going on right now."

[Updated 3:44 from Occupy Wall Street's spokesperson] "I got hoaxed. Radiohead was never confirmed. Completely our fault. Apologies. The band were victims in this hoax as well."