N.Y. Occupiers now nomads
Encampment ends but protests continue D.C. WANTS OCCUPY PROTESTERS REMOVED
NEW YORK — It was only a few nights after the Occupy protesters began sleeping in his church sanctuary when Rev. Bob Brashear realized his laptop was missing.
The refugees from Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park had found their way to his cavernous Presbyterian church on a cold winter evening, hoping to stay for a few nights, maybe longer. It was the latest stopover for the nomadic group, which has been living in a rotating series of churches since the city shut down its camp in November.
“There was a sense of shock and sadness that it had happened,” said Brashear, whose laptop will soon be replaced by Occupy organizers. “And there’s a common understanding that if there’s one more theft in the church, that’s it .”
This is what the Occupy encampment has become: a band of homeless protesters with no place to go. Amid accusations of drug use and sporadic theft, they’ve been sleeping on church pews for weeks, consuming at least $20,000 of the donations that Occupy Wall Street still has in its coffers.
“We don’t do this out of charity,” said 34-year- old
Washington Mayor Vincent Gray has called on the National Park Service to remove Occupy DC protesters from Mcpherson Square, citing rat infestation and other health issues.
In a letter dated Thursday to Jonathan Jarvis, Park Service director, Gray suggested relocating the Mcpherson protesters to another protest encampment at Freedom Plaza.
Occupy DC has been at Mcpherson Square since October. Both sites are on Park Service land.
Earlier this week, D.C. health officials said the two camps have a large concentration of rats. In addition, Gray expressed concern for the protesters, who could suffer from hypothermia in the cold.
Bill Line, a spokesman for the Park Service, said Thursday that political free speech enjoys the highest level of protection in the U.S. Ravi Ahmad, who works for Columbia University and volunteers with Occupy in her spare time. “We do this so that whoever wants to work in the movement can work in the movement. This is a meritocracy.”
But money is draining rapidly from Occupy’s various bank accounts, which currently amount to about $344,000. Including church maintenance costs and meals, living expenses are more than $2,000 per week.
“We are all aware that the NYPD destroyed the tent homes of many Occupiers in just one night,” someone recently wrote on nycga.net, Occupy’s General Assembly website for New York City. “However, where were they living before Zuccotti Park? Are we paying for housing for homeless people who may be relocated to City shelters?”
The movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, has been fighting to stay afloat in the city where it began. Media attention and donations have dropped off. And although protesters regularly meet to plan demonstrations, recent marches have had none of the spectacle that captivated New Yorkers and watchers worldwide.
On Monday, the metal barricades surrounding Zuccotti Park were removed for the first time since the November raid. But protesters still can’t set up tents to camp overnight — and they don’t have a long-term solution to the housing problem.