Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Occupy Wall Street Turning Zuccotti Park Into Latest Tourist Hotspot
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Oct 3, 2011
Modified Oct 3, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Oct 3, 2011
Modified Oct 3, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
So, have you guys heard of this Occupy Wall Street thing? It's catching on like the subprime mortgage market in 2006! And now, googly-eyed tourists are getting in on it too, turning previously obscure Zuccotti Park into the city's hottest, most exciting tourist destination since bedbugs the Spider-Man musical hit Broadway.
“This was one of the top things on our list to come to see and to do,” 56-year-old South Carolina visitor Bob Harvey told The Times. “To experience this and to join in with these people," he explained, adding that he found the time to sneak in a trip to Zuccotti in between visits to historic churches and a performance of Billy Elliot. Another woman said she was in the city shopping for a wedding dress when she decided to detour to catch some of the Occupation action. They were even treated to an impromptu performance from peace-loving troubadour Peter Yarrow!
Even financial institutions, who ostensibly embody everything the Occupiers are standing against, are swinging by: "It took me about 10 seconds to realize the hoard of people I encountered were not Occupy Wall Street Protesters, just your typical tourists," wrote one flabbergasted MyBankTracker reporter. One Occupy visitor we spoke to this weekend told us he thinks a lot of tourists come by after checking out the World Trade Center, though not all passerby are quite so logical: "I had one guy from Moldova ask me, 'Is Christmas cancelled?' and I was like, 'Huh?'" said one reporter who was on-site this weekend. "Then he launched into some crazy anti-capitalist screed, sipped his beverage from Subway and said 'Good bye!'"
Tagged
occupy wall street
tourist hotspot
Zuccotti Park
Jamie Feldmar
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
Construction crews will jack up sagging floors where two key structural columns bent in July.
By
David Brand
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 1:54 p.m. ET
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
A city investigation discovered that when the bus arrived at its destination in Crown Heights, one student was lying in a pool of urine.
By
Jessica Gould
News
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
A city investigation discovered that when the bus arrived at its destination in Crown Heights, one student was lying in a pool of urine.
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Queens mother charged with murder in death of 5-year-old daughter, NYPD says
By
Ryan Kost
NYC’s whiplash weather continues into weekend with heavy winds, chilly temps, NWS says
By
Monica Melton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .