Suits Who Work Around Occupy Wall Street Tell Us What They Really Think

Meryl Cates

Published Oct 22, 2011

Modified Oct 22, 2011

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Meryl Cates

Published Oct 22, 2011

Modified Oct 22, 2011

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The crowds of demonstrators and tourists flocking to Zuccotti Park have certainly irritated some of the local residents, but what about the businessmen who around there? During lunch hour on a sunny afternoon last week, we went down to the financial district to talk to men and women who work in various corporate fields around Wall Street. And while many seem to shrug off Occupy Wall Street with a mere eye roll, others had something more articulate to say. A number of those interviewed asked to keep their identity and place of work hidden, perhaps fearful of backlash—but here's what the suits told us:

"It's not gonna work," explained one anonymous businessman. "Unfortunately, although everyone is listening around the world to what's going on, the people who are working in this area just don't care. We walk by them like they're not there. A few friends that I work with, we walk by the area at lunch just to see what's going on. The one thing that I am mildly concerned about is the riots have been happening. Something like that, which would definitely be a concern of mine because all I'm doing is going to work. I feel like I'm being punished by them because I have a job. I feel like all their rage is coming out of jealousy, let's be honest. It's almost like yeah I'm being targeted. I'm being more affected than the upper level employees who come right in. They just don't care. But I walk past it every day."
"Everyone of us suits has debts and everything else," said Alex Malano of New Jersey. "Just because you wear a suit doesn't mean you have money."
"They are pretty harmless," opined Bob, who declined to give his last name. "Not a whole lot of people are taking this seriously. They're posing for pictures, it's their moment in the spotlight. Idealism is great, but the people that they're targeting aren't even hearing them. It's the working class, the ones taking the subway, that are being disrupted."
"[The protests] will end when they tire out or when they start getting jobs," declared Michael Iovino of Manhattan.
"[They're] destroying my business," explained Stacey Tzortzatos, owner and manager of Panini & Co., a Wall Street lunch hotspot right next to Zuccotti Park. "It hasn't gotten any better. In fact, it's the opposite."

Tagged

banksters

occupy wall street

Zuccotti Park

Meryl Cates

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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