Adrianne Jeffries, @ADRjeffries
As mentioned by Chris Bowers on the front page, the 1% is launching a new initiative aimed at evicting the Occupy Wall Street activist currently occupying Liberty Square, nee: Zuccotti Park.
Cynthia Kouril, at the site that dare not be named, live-blogged the meeting and it's well worth a read, it's here. Sample:
7:55 PM EST
The last speaker is an OWS occupier.
He says he doesn’t want to disrespect those who live here. “We hope we can work this out”
Sounds to this Firepup like the bongo drums may have a time place and manner restriction coming their way, but hey, maybe that will also mean porta potties?
I think this meeting blew up in the faces of its organizers, since it appears that most of the residential and small business neighbor support OWS.
8:03 PM EST
Committeman John Fratto? Says we should have resolution supporting OWS.
Our kids will graduate in June with no jobs and lots of debts. The Occupiers are fighting for all of us
I had a spy of my own, a resident of the neighborhood, and known here on Kos by a handle that reflects his last zip code: HarlemUSA.
He now resides in the Financial District and attended the Community Board meeting which in part, was to discuss "the Zuccotti Park situation."
He was kind enough to share his impressions to me, via email.
Take it for what it's worth, it's an anecdotal, subjective account of his impressions of the meeting overall. But, I will point out they do square quite nicely with Kouril's impression from her live blog.
To wit: the residents are frustrated, but more often it is the taxing situation of living in a construction/war zone that is Ground Zero. And the NYPD and City are not making things easier with barricades and heavy-handed police tactics mentioned by many at pointless and unnecessary.
And they support the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Givent the chance, few people took the opportunity to air their complaints about the movement in public last night.
So, the CB1 meeting last night was PACKED. When I arrived at 250 there was a long line down the block just to get into the building. That was pretty funny for a meeting of small committee for the overall Community Board. Once I finally got upstairs after almost a half hour in line, the room was overflowing -- standing room only. many committee members spoke first and then allowed those of us who signed up to speak to do so.
Part of the frustration that board members and the community at large are feeling is that the neighborhood has been under siege for ten years from 9/11, with the recovery and then construction projects, street work, infrastructure work. There is drilling, jack hammering etc. at all hours. So, residents are a little edgy. They expressed their concerns while also firmly stating their strong support for the movement.
”The crowd was firmly supportive of the goals of OWS.”
If those who opposed Occupy Wall Street thought this was going to be like a Summer of 2009 town hall -- it was. But not with the sentiment going the way they thought it might. The crowd was firmly supportive of the goals of OWS. One of the first speakers was some ex-frat dude who bemoaned the occupiers, said he had no interest in being a part of their 99%. We was LOUDLY booed. A few other guys and one younger woman got up and they were also clearly conservatives who came not to speak out but they were glare at the occupiers as they spoke and were snide and condescending. They were also not warmly received.
I was one of the last to speak and I reminded those who are tired of living behind barricades, who are tired of the police to blame our billionaire mayor and his NYPD goons. I further said that many of those who spoke against the occupiers were fine with the continued choking of the middle class in this country and were fine with the rising income inequality gap. I also said that I was speaking there not as a occupier as a middle-aged, pudy, middle manager I am hardly cool enough to be an occupier. :-) big applause As other neighbors spoke when they spoke out in favor of the occupiers the applause was overwhleming.
I left there feeling pretty good. I really did feel like the Fall of 2011 is the inverse of Summer 2009.
@ADRjeffries:
occupywallstreet #cb1 So far protest has more <3ers than h8rs at community board mtg.
["<3ers" = lovers <3 being Twitter shorthand for "heart/love."]
Update
Wow. Pretty shocking that Politico has a totally different read on what happened last night:
The desire to complain about the demonstrators was so widespread that the line to speak at the meeting wound its way outside the board’s office and into the street, the New York Post said. At least several hundred people showed up to the board meeting.
Not so clear the hundreds that showed were there to complain, as to support the OWSers.
