Mayor Mike continues to show his allegiance to and leadership of the 1%. He has pronounced that last night's Brooklyn Bridge march did not represent the majority of Occupy Wall Street prostesters but rather
"was just an opportunity for a bunch of unions to complain or to protest, or whatever they want to do."
Speaking on his weekly WOR Radio show Friday, Bloomberg said "a vast percentage" of the marchers were union members who "had organized signs and leadership."
ZOMG, organized signs and leadership! I'm having trouble following how this invalidates OWS or its intent or how this dichotomy he's trying to draw has any meaning. First he doesn't like when OWS is disorganized, now he doesn't like organization.
The days events include descriptions of the sometimes chaotic disruptions and gridlock caused by barricades causing traffic jams in downtown Manhattan. Evening rush hour traffic reports warned of gridlock and to stay away from the bridge.
To mark the second month of the protest, hundreds of protesters began the day at the Stock Exchange in an effort to interrupt the opening bell. It rang on time, but many who worked in the financial district had trouble getting to work with barricades blocking intersections.
Clashes between a police and a crowd at Zuccotti Park occurred when a group of protesters removed the metal barricades around the perimeter of the park.
By late afternoon, a crowd of several thousand headed to Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, some coming via subway, and spilled into the streets, before crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and then heading back to Zuccotti Park.
Sam Schwemberger, a protester that took part in the march to the Brooklyn Bridge, said it was hard to move, in part, due to size of the crowd “but it also seems hyper-regulated by police cordons and so on and so forth. Like a gesture of occupying the streets but there's very, very tight control."
Police arrested at least two dozen people for trying to block traffic on the bridge roadway at the start of the march, but the most demonstrators crossed without incident on the pedestrian walkway, where Occupy Wall Street slogans were projected on the side of the Verizon building and drivers honked their support for the protest.
But Baghdad Mike tells a different version of the events. Doing his best impersonation of Baghdad Bob:
so far the demonstrations had "minimal disruption to people. Most protesters have, in fairness, acted responsibly."
"We will ensure that everyone has a right to exercise their First Amendment rights." Bloomberg said. "But make no mistake about it, if anyone's actions cross the line and threaten the health and safety of others ... we will respond accordingly."
I guessed he missed the larger than life lightshow on the Verizon Buiding. Mayor Mike, the out of touch mayor of New York City.