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NYCLU Demands City Loosen Zuccotti Park's Restrictions
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 9, 2012
Modified Jan 9, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 9, 2012
Modified Jan 9, 2012
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Two months after Zuccotti Park was forcibly evicted by the NYPD, the metal barricades and constant security presence remain, making the space less like a public park and more like a frozen zone. Today the NYCLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the NLG fired off a letter [pdf] to Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri asking him to "ensure that Zuccotti Park is open and accessible to all members of the public on an equal basis."
"Right now, Zuccotti Park is a public space in name only,” NYCLU's executive director Donna Lieberman notes in a release. “The metal barricades, security checkpoints and selectively enforced rules not only raise serious constitutional concerns, they violate city zoning laws." Liberman refers in part to the special zoning permit issued in March of 1968 that gave 1 Liberty Plaza "valuable zoning concessions" in exchange for building and maintaining the public park.
The letter also assails the "constantly changing unwritten rules" that consist of "ad hoc prohibitions" that "unreasonably restrict the public's use of Liberty Plaza in violation of city law." Sometimes large bags, food, or instruments are permitted inside the two narrow entrances of the park, other times they are not, depending on the whims of the security personnel.
On New Year's Eve, some protesters dismantled the barricades and clashed with the police as they attempted to "reclaim" the space that was once theirs.
Tagged
brookfield properties
civil rights
department of buildings
freedom to assembly
frozen zones
mayor bloomberg
nypd
occupy wall street
police state
public spaces
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.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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