Protesters march in bid to paralyze Wall Street
Source: Agencies |
November 18, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Hundreds of Occupy demonstrators marched through New York's financial district yesterday in an attempt to block traders from reaching the New York Stock Exchange, promising a national day of action with mass gatherings in other cities.
The action came two days after authorities cleared the encampment that sparked the global protest movement against economic inequality and greed. Frustrations seemed to spill over shortly afterward in the park at the center of the protest as hundreds of people shoved back the metal police barricades that have long surrounded the area.
A live television shot from above showed waves of police and protesters briefly pushing back and forth before the barricades appeared to be settled at the edge of the park once more.
"All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!" the crowd chanted, clogging the streets as they neared the stock exchange. Police arrested several protesters who were sitting on the ground one block from Wall Street and refusing to move.
Some of the police hit protesters as they resisted arrest. Most of the marchers retreated.
Police said about 50 or 60 people had been arrested.
The day of action had been planned before the city and park owners cracked down on the two-month-old encampment in Zuccotti Park, clearing out tents, tarps and sleeping bags.
Similar camps have sprung up across the United States but face increasing pressure from local authorities, who point to health and safety concerns.
"This is a critical moment for the movement given what happened the other night," said Paul Knick, 44. "It seems like there's a concerted effort to stop the movement, and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."
The protest remained relatively peaceful, and the demonstrators and police were still allowing workers to get to their offices.
"Someone brought a box of donuts for the cops. No takers but the cops smiled," the New York Civil Liberties Union said on Twitter.
Passer-by Gene Williams, a 57-year-old bond trader, joked that he was "one of the bad guys" but said he empathized with the demonstrators.
"They have a point in a lot of ways," he said. "The fact of the matter is, there is a schism between the rich and the poor and it's getting wider."
The New York group announced it would rally near the New York Stock Exchange, then fan out across Manhattan and head to subways, before gathering downtown and marching over the Brooklyn Bridge.
A past attempt to march across the bridge drew the first significant international attention to the Occupy movement when more than 700 people were arrested.
"The protesters are calling for a massive event aimed at disrupting major parts of the city," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said. "We will be prepared for that."
The confrontations followed early-morning arrests in Dallas, where police evicted dozens of protesters from their campsite near City Hall. They arrested 18 protesters who refused to leave.
In Los Angeles, about 500 sympathizers of the Occupy Wall Street protest marched in the downtown financial district, chanting "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out."
The action came two days after authorities cleared the encampment that sparked the global protest movement against economic inequality and greed. Frustrations seemed to spill over shortly afterward in the park at the center of the protest as hundreds of people shoved back the metal police barricades that have long surrounded the area.
A live television shot from above showed waves of police and protesters briefly pushing back and forth before the barricades appeared to be settled at the edge of the park once more.
"All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!" the crowd chanted, clogging the streets as they neared the stock exchange. Police arrested several protesters who were sitting on the ground one block from Wall Street and refusing to move.
Some of the police hit protesters as they resisted arrest. Most of the marchers retreated.
Police said about 50 or 60 people had been arrested.
The day of action had been planned before the city and park owners cracked down on the two-month-old encampment in Zuccotti Park, clearing out tents, tarps and sleeping bags.
Similar camps have sprung up across the United States but face increasing pressure from local authorities, who point to health and safety concerns.
"This is a critical moment for the movement given what happened the other night," said Paul Knick, 44. "It seems like there's a concerted effort to stop the movement, and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."
The protest remained relatively peaceful, and the demonstrators and police were still allowing workers to get to their offices.
"Someone brought a box of donuts for the cops. No takers but the cops smiled," the New York Civil Liberties Union said on Twitter.
Passer-by Gene Williams, a 57-year-old bond trader, joked that he was "one of the bad guys" but said he empathized with the demonstrators.
"They have a point in a lot of ways," he said. "The fact of the matter is, there is a schism between the rich and the poor and it's getting wider."
The New York group announced it would rally near the New York Stock Exchange, then fan out across Manhattan and head to subways, before gathering downtown and marching over the Brooklyn Bridge.
A past attempt to march across the bridge drew the first significant international attention to the Occupy movement when more than 700 people were arrested.
"The protesters are calling for a massive event aimed at disrupting major parts of the city," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said. "We will be prepared for that."
The confrontations followed early-morning arrests in Dallas, where police evicted dozens of protesters from their campsite near City Hall. They arrested 18 protesters who refused to leave.
In Los Angeles, about 500 sympathizers of the Occupy Wall Street protest marched in the downtown financial district, chanting "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out."
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