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Photos: At Least Three Arrested During Occupy's Anniversary March
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 17, 2013
Modified Sep 17, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 17, 2013
Modified Sep 17, 2013
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At least twothree protesters were arrested on an Occupy Wall Street march from Zuccotti Park to Washington Square park as part of a demonstration to mark the second anniversary of the movement. The arrests happened on Broadway near Franklin Street, as police detained a man wearing a mask, and another who happened to be walking on the sidewalk. There was no obvious reason for the arrests, which appeared arbitrary, and the NYPD press office did not have any additional information regarding their charges.
For the several hundred people who gathered in Lower Manhattan to mark Occupy's anniversary, it seemed to be an exercise in shrunken nostalgia. All the hallmarks of an Occupy protest were present, if miniaturized and slightly muted.
A "First Amendment zone" was enforced on the steps of Federal Hall, David Intrator blew his sax, puppets were hoisted, people pushing past protesters on the sidewalk alternately sneered or cheered, Chase Plaza remained closed, and arbitrary rules of dubious legality were enforced in Zuccotti Park, a supposedly public space. (We asked a security guard what was prohibited. No bikes, large bags, instruments, or cardboard tubes? "That's a good start," he responded, before waving us off).
And of course, the handful of arrests, executed in a fashion designed to intimidate and control, as part of a show of overwhelming force by the NYPD.
Yet all of it was new to Isabel Becker, who missed the beginning of the Occupy movement because she was traveling overseas. "I have been waiting so long to protest!" Becker exclaimed as she walked down Broadway. "I protested the Iraq War in 2003 but I missed Occupy."
A 70-year-old retired graphic designer, Becker said the movement's central message against income inequality was still relevant. "The corporations still own everything, and the politicians still have to prove themselves to the public," she told us. Asked whether the results of the recent mayoral primary gave her any hope that City Hall may be more sympathetic to the issue of the widening gap between the rich and poor, she replied, "I like de Blasio, but he still hasn't proven himself to the people he wants to serve."
There is one place where the heady, early days of Occupy are still very real: in the courts. Protester Jed Meighan was shoved to the ground by a group of NYPD officers during a St. Patrick's Day Occupy March of 2012 and broke his wrist. Meighan won a $55,000 settlement from the City, and is now part of another lawsuit with 15 other protesters who were wrongfully arrested during the chaotic New Year's protest on December 31, 2011.
"During mediation, a judge suggested the City pay $23,500 per protester, but because that amount is above $250,000, Ray Kelly has to sign off on it," Meighan told us. "He said no way, so now we might be going to trial."
We noticed Meighan, a paralegal from Westchester who has been involved with the movement since October 2011, as he followed around high-ranking NYPD officers through a portion of Washington Square Park today. Suddenly he fell to the ground, and an NYPD officer refused to give him a hand and help him up.
"The cop stepped on my foot and I fell," Meighan said. "I was just trying to listen to what they were saying. I asked him, 'This is a public park, right?' and he just looked at me and said 'Ahhh.' "
A march to push for a Robin Hood Tax begins at 5 p.m. in front of the United Nations and will eventually wind up at Zuccotti Park this evening.
Tagged
brookfield properties
income inequality
occupy wall street
ows
Ray Kelly
Zuccotti Park
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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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