Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD To Drunks, Criminals: Why Not Occupy Wall Street?
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 31, 2011
Modified Oct 31, 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
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 31, 2011
Modified Oct 31, 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
As the Occupy Wall Street protesters entrench themselves in Zuccotti Park with tents, tarps (and pedal-powering generators) there is concern that the environment at the park itself is attracting drunks, drug dealers, and garden-variety criminals in increasingly greater numbers. There may be a reason for this: the NYPD is allegedly telling lawbreakers to take their activities to Zuccotti.
Harry Siegel reports in the Daily News on the divide between the East and West sides of the park, with the East populated by the working groups (Sanitation, Press, Legal) and the West filled up with "the carnival crowd" of "crusty punks, angry drunks, drug dealers and the city's many varieties of park denizens." But Siegel points to something far more cynical that mere self-selection for an increase in the number of dubious occupiers:
Two different drunks I spoke with last week told me they’d been encouraged to “take it to Zuccotti” by officers who’d found them drinking in other parks, and members of the community affairs working group related several similar stories they’d heard while talking with intoxicated or aggressive new arrivals.
When one "clearly disturbed man" continued to scream and sing at 3 a.m., Siegel heard an officer say, “He’s got a right to express himself, you’ve got a right to express yourself." A protester then joked that it was "the first time I've heard cops mention our First Amendment rights."
Though Zuccotti's kitchen has cut back on hours and on menu items, and the protesters use mediators with walkie-talkies to patrol the park, it's unclear if those who support the movement itself will be able to peacefully excise those who break the law and pollute the group's message.
If there's one thing the protesters may have in their favor, it's that most members of Community Board 1 seem to know the difference between those who occupy the park respectfully and those who sell drugs and jeopardize the safety of the neighborhood. If it's determined that the NYPD and the Bloomberg administration are responsible for more people defecating on their doorsteps, their focus may shift from how the protesters can peacefully coexist with residents to why those in charge are preventing them from doing so.
Tagged
community board 1
crime
drugs
nypd
occupy wall street
protests
Zuccotti Park
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.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail
The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault
By
Charles Lane
Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York
By
Giulia Heyward
‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech
By
Ben Feuerherd
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 .