Court order allows NYC protesters back into park

HUNDREDS of police officers in riot gear raided the New York city park where the Occupy Wall Street protests began, evicting and arresting protesters, before dawn, from what has become the epicentre of the worldwide movement protesting at corporate greed and economic inequality.

Hours later, the National Lawyers Guild obtained a court order allowing the protesters to return to the park, where they have camped for two months. The guild said that the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on the protesters.

At a news conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the evacuation was conducted in the middle of the night “to reduce the risk of confrontation in the park, and to minimise disruption to the surrounding neighbourhood”.

Police officers flooded the park with klieg lights and used bull horns to announce that everyone had to leave.

The officers “had their pepper spray out and were ready to use it”, said protester Jake Rozak.

About 70 people were arrested, including some who chained themselves together. Others chanted or shouted angrily at police and vowed to march in protest.

Bloomberg said that the city knew about the court order but had not seen it and would go to court to fight it. He said the city wants to protect people’s rights, but if a choice must be made, it will protect public safety.

By 9am the park was power-washed clean by sanitation workers. Police in riot gear ringed the public space, waiting for orders to reopen it.

The city told protesters they could come back after the cleaning, but under new tougher rules, including no tents, sleeping bags or tarps, which would effectively put an end to the encampment if enforced.

“The law that created Zuccotti Park required that it be open for the public to enjoy for passive recreation 24 hours a day,” Bloomberg said. “Ever since the occupation began, that law has not been complied with, as the park has been taken over by protesters, making it unavailable to anyone else.”

Concerns about health and safety issues at Occupy Wall Street camps around the US have intensified, and protesters have been ordered to take down their shelters, adhere to curfews and relocate so that parks can be cleaned.

Hundreds of former Zuccotti Park residents and supporters marched along Lower Manhattan before dawn yesterday.

Some paused and locked arms outside City Hall but left peacefully when police in riot gear appeared. Up to 400 kept moving along the pavements.

Some were chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.”

Others chanted: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, our billionaire mayor has got to go.”

Notices given to the protesters said that the park “poses an increasing health and fire safety hazard to those camped in the park, the city’s first responders and the surrounding community”.

It added that tents, sleeping bags and other items had to be removed because “the storage of these materials at this location is not allowed”. Anything left behind would be taken away, the notices said, giving an address at a sanitation department building where items could be picked up.