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NYPD Liberates Zuccotti Park

By Aaron Goldstein on 11.15.11 @ 9:41AM

After nearly sixty days, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally gave the NYPD authorization to clear Zuccotti Park and evict those who comprised Occupy Wall Street.

I suspect Bloomberg took his cue from cities like Oakland and Portland, Oregon which saw fit to clear their Occupy sites yesterday. I mean Bloomberg looks pretty bad if the likes of Jean Quan are more prepared to enforce law and order than he is.

As of this moment, the Occupy Boston camp at Dewey Square remains. This isn't totally surprising. The difference between Occupy Boston and some of the other Occupy movements is that Occupy Boston hasn't been quite as disruptive. While Dewey Square is situated in Boston's Financial District across the street from both the Federal Reserve and South Station, they aren't really impeding anybody from going to work nor are there nearby residents to be disturbed by their noise. You wouldn't know they were here unless you went looking for them.

Now don't get me wrong. There have been arrests for drug distribution, theft, vandalism, disorderly conduct/disturbing the peace, etc. Some of the trouble has happened outside Dewey Square. But I don't see Mayor Menino ordering the Boston PD to evict the occupiers. Not yet anyway. I have a feeling that will change when the weather gets really cold.

As for Occupy Wall Street, even though they are gone I have a strong feeling this won't be the last that we hear from them.

UPDATE: Apparently this isn't the last we'll hear from them. Brian Bolduc at NRO informs us that a judge has issued a restraining order halting any further evictions until a hearing which is scheduled to take place later this morning at 11:30 a.m. In the meantime, occupiers are being allowed back into Zuccotti Park.

UPDATE II: Late this afternoon, a judge upheld the City of New York's decision to shut down Occupy Wall Street. Zuccotti Park has been re-opened but sleeping bags and tents are not allowed. Finally, the park belongs to everybody, not just the protesters.

Well, better late than never. Allowing this to fester for nearly two months turned about to be a mistake. Of course, if Rudy Giuliani were Mayor they would not have spent one night down there.

View all comments (3) | Leave a comment

Occam's Tool| 11.15.11 @ 11:53AM

Thank G-d. MUCH TOO LATE, though.

Nothing wrong with the "Occupiers" that can't be cured with sufficient force.

dixiedrifter| 11.15.11 @ 12:53PM

Evicting the protestors for the purpose of removing their "living quarters" will ultimately break the "camel's back". The logic here is based on the fact that while these misguided under achievers contribute nothing towards society, they have become a major cost center for those municipalities who continue to tolerate their self-centered behavior. With this example, the word "occupy" means to sit on your butt, do nothing, turn up your nose at authority, but then expect others to be sympathetic to your plight. The average working stiff has long since dismissed these counter-culture misfits as nothing more than spoiled brats. With the comforts generally afforded society removed, ( a roof over one's head, someone else providing hot meals and the ability to watch the evening news in the comfort of one's encampment) a good number of these "losers in life" will simply give up the cause. Keep in mind; these protestors do not envision having to lift a finger in providing for themselves. Like any other societal aberration, they soon develop a parasitic pedigree. Marching in a park on a cold wet day without the comforts of a warming fire, no free food or drink and the increasing possibility you will be forgotten by the MSM, soon takes the luster off any grandiose plan to "remake" society. History repeats itself, what we are experiencing today is a new generation of people who have been exposed to the misguided belief that somehow the world should treat everyone fairly. For these unfortunate souls, the day of reckoning will soon arrive. The lights will go on once they understand you don't get "something for nothing". With past generations - we simply identified this metamorphic process as "growing up".....

MikeBee| 11.23.11 @ 9:31AM

I still think that the only reason that these protests happened was due to a few folks' desire to have a shot at POTUS someday. Their prime example sits in the White House today..... If being a protestor can enhance one's resume THAT much, then, why not protest?

What we should have done with these brats is to give each of them an all-expenses-paid trip to Iran, with instructions to continue their protest there. Once they experienced what happens to protestors in Iran, they would have gladly returned to the U.S., with a newly-found appreciation for our rights and freedoms.