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Peter Vallone: Wall Street Occupiers Need To Get A Job
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 25, 2011
Modified Sep 26, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 25, 2011
Modified Sep 26, 2011
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After nearly a week of muted coverage, it seems that the violent arrest of 80 protestors this weekend has finally forced major news organizations to spill ink for the ongoing occupation of Wall Street. NY1's coverage reveals that Queens councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. is no fan of what's going on in Lower Manhattan. "You certainly cannot take over a New York City street…We have emergency vehicles to get through, people actually have jobs to get to, unlike these protestors, apparently," Vallone said, without a trace of irony.
Patrick Bruner, a Bed-Stuy resident and spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, one of the groups organizing the protest against corporate hegemony, says today was not spent licking wounds but "dealing with logistical issues." Among them: keeping people fed, securing media equipment, and keeping shelter over the heads of those staying in Zuccotti Park. "Every time we put up a tent the police harasses us," Bruner said. "Every farmer's market in the city has a big umbrella, but they won't let us keep ours."
Bruner also says that the violent turn the protests took yesterday involved "almost exclusively supervising police officers, white shirts." In the widely viewed video of a small group of women being hit with pepper spray for seemingly no reason, it is a white-shirted police officer who discharges it. "We feel that the blue collar cops are pretty much with us."
From managing donations to coordinating rallies to furiously Tweeting, all while usually talking on the phone, we asked Bruner what he thought of the Observer's piece on the frantic pace of his life. He laughed and said, "Many of us feel that this is the most important thing we'll do in our lives. So we're more than happy to do it…We're gonna be here a long time."
Tagged
2012
corporate greed
economy
election
obama
occupation of wall street
occupy wall street
wall street
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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