Lawsuit Update

Whoops!

So, we here at the Library have been sitting on this for a while, but the cat’s out of the bag now, thanks to the Village Voice.  In short, the city and Brookfield (owners of Zuccotti/Liberty) are pointing fingers and loudly yelling, “nuhuh!”

earlier this morning

 

Earlier this morning (around 7am?) the police very briefly opened the barricades in one section at the north of the park.

 

 
A few of us made our way back and began to settle in. We only had a few minutes before they announced that they were re-sealing the barricades.

 

New “Rules”

Here are the new “rules” posted at Liberty Plaza. So far, there are reports of Police stopping occupiers from standing on higher-than-ground surfaces in the park, police preventing food delivery from coming into the park, police stopping musicians from bringing in instruments and police searching people who enter the park. My take: this would appear to be very much like the protest pens that were a popular tool of the G.W. Bush administration and it would seem to violate the agreement that was made to grant Brookfield that extra height on their building. Perhaps they would be willing to lob off a few floors? Or, return the park to the free and open space for public use that it has always been.

Either way, we don’t ask permission to occupy.

Eviction Notice & Property Removal

Here is a photo of the eviction notice from a photograph posted by twitter user @harrysiegel. Note that it says the property will be stored at the Department of Sanitation parking garage at 650 West 57th St. However, it was clear from the livestream and witnesses inside the park that the property was destroyed by police and DSNY workers before it was thrown in dumpsters.

Eviction Resistance.

Photographs by Stephen Boyer of the People’s Library wrapped up and ready for the eviction resistance Friday morning.

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NYPD Distributing the Following Leaflets

NOTICE OF CLEANING AND UPKEEP OPERATIONS TO COMMENCE FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:
Please be advised that we will be conducting deferred cleaning and maintenance in Zuccotti Park on Friday, October 14th. In the past three weeks we have been unable to perform our normal daily upkeep operations. As a result, and particularly because of the heavy and continuous park usage during this time, conditions in the Park have deteriorated presenting health and cleanliness issues which must be addressed.

We intend to proceed to clean the Park in sections so that one-third of the Park will be cleaned at a time while the remaining portions of the Park can continue to be used. Cleaning operations will commence on the western portion (Church Street) of the Park at 7:00 AM, and Brookfield representatives will be in the Park to delineate each of the areas being cleaned. It will be necessary for the public to leave the portion of the Park being cleaned while cleaning operations are underway, and to remove any possessions from the area being cleaned. Any possessions left in an area when it is ready to be cleaned will be considered to have been left there because they have been abandoned and they will be disposed of accordingly.

We anticipate that it will take approximately 4 hours to clean each section of the Park. Once a section has been cleaned, it will be re-opened to the public for lawful use consistent with our regulations. For your information, a copy of Brookfield’s regulations governing the use of the Park is attached to this Notice.

NOTICE
ZUCCOTTI PARK IS A PRIVATELY-OWNED SPACE THAT IS DESIGNED AND INTENDED FOR USE AND ENJOYMENT BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR PASSIVE RECREATION.

FOR THE SAFETY AND ENJOYMENT OF EVERYONE, THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF BEHAVIOR ARE PROHIBITED IN ZUCCOTTI PARK:

• CAMPING AND/OR THE ERECTION OF TENTS OR OTHER STRUCTURES.
• LYING DOWN ON THE GROUND, OR LYING DOWN ON BENCHES, SITTING AREAS OR WALKWAYS WHICH UNREASONABLY INTERFERES WITH THE USE OF BENCHES, SITTING AREAS OR WALKWAYS BY OTHERS.
• THE PLACEMENT OF TARPS OR SLEEPING BAGS OR OTHER COVERING ON THE PROPERTY.
• STORAGE OR PLACEMENT OF PERSONAL PROPERTY ON THE GROUND, BENCHES, SITTING AREAS OR WALKWAYS WHICH UNREASONABLY INTERFERES WITH THE USE OF SUCH AREAS BY OTHERS.
• THE USE OF BICYCLES, SKATEBOARDS AND ROLLER BLADES.
• REMOVAL OF OBJECTS FROM TRASH RECEPTACLES.

Brookfield Letter to NYPD

In the following letter, Brookfield asserts ownership over Liberty Plaza and blames the occupation for “lewdness, groping, drinking and drug use” in the park as well as “unsanitary conditions and offensive odors.” Of course, that’s a perfect description of much of New York City on any day. However as anyone who visits the park knows, and contrary to the claims made in this letter, Liberty Plaza has been a respite from those conditions since the occupation began.

In addition, the letter complains of “packages of all shapes and sizes” which are not being “screened by our security team or the police for suspicious or harmful materials.” Clearly Brookfield is quite concerned about the ideas in all of those boxes of books we’ve been getting.

Despite clearly having no idea what’s really going on in the park and no grasp of the actual conditions, this letter asks the NYC Police to clear the park for cleaning. Here is the letter in full, now part of the People’s Library digital archive.

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