Manhattan, NY – New Yorkers who live near the park where anti-Wall Street protesters have been camping out for more than a month are complaining that their quality of life has declined.
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At a two-hour meeting, some neighbors said protesters urinated in the streets and beat drums in the middle of the night.
“They’re defecating on our doorsteps,” said Catherine Hughes, a member of the area’s community board, a representative panel that helps funnel local concerns to city officials.
Some neighbors who attended the packed meeting called for the protesters to vacate Zuccotti Park, the plaza where protesters have set up their base camp.
But the board voted unanimously for a resolution that recognized the protesters’ First Amendment rights while calling for a crackdown on noise and public urination and defecation.
Three local elected officials praised the resolution in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and state Sen. Daniel Squadron called the community board’s resolution “an attempt to establish a sensible framework that respects the protesters’ fundamental rights while addressing the very real quality of life concerns for residents and businesses around Zuccotti Park.”
Asked about Occupy Wall Street on WOR Radio, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the protesters’ leaderless structure has made it difficult to negotiate with them.
“It’s a little bit complicated by there’s nobody to work it out with,” Bloomberg said. “You know, there just is not any one group, one ideology, one objective, one person to negotiate with.”
Occupy Wall Street spokesman Han Shan, who has served as a liaison between protesters and local elected officials, agreed the protesters needed to be better neighbors.
Shan said that there are ongoing discussions about the drumming, which is officially confined to noon to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
One of the drummers, Jackson Leverette, questioned why neighbors would single out the drumming when the plaza, directly across the street from the World Trade Center site, is already noisy.
“When the construction workers are out there it actually drowns out the drums,” he said.
The community board also said it opposed the use of force by police or the park’s owners to address their concerns.
These crazies should be stopped before it becomes imposible to control them. After all there are enough leidig giers in the city and the number of protesters will just grow.
Stop them now by all means before it’s too late.
Remember, I warned you.
Kol Hakovod to Congressman Nadler for focusing so clearly on the First Amendment rights of these protesters. Those basic rights take priority over the comfort and convenience of the neighborhood residents.
Dealing with these people is like dealing with Radical Islam. There is no one to negotiate with, so they can act irresponsibly, no-one beingin charge to take the rap.
Genug of these deranged young protestors along with the senior Raging Grannies.
So who is going to provide the adult diapers?
I think that This Occupy Movement is case in point as to why we can never legalize marijuana. I admit that I have listened to the factions who want to legalize this drug and recognize that they claim that many Americans want to do this. Considering that it would alleviate some of the crime involved with the illegal trade including murder, this sounded like something to think about.
Now seeing this mass anarchy movement, I am sadly never going to support a marijuana legalization other than for medical use since I do not think that we could have tolerated a blasted and skunked population sitting in front of the Wall Street places.
Sorry to the permissives out there.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is affraid to force these malcontents out. Where is the NYC Department of Health on all of this? There are no proper facilities for sanitation. These folks don’t even have porto potties to use. The streets have become their bathroom and that is just plain nasty to say the least. Unless they leave the grounds, where do these poeple bath? Nasty again.
Have you carefully studied the demographics of this protestor community? The 1st amendment should be protected. However, the people must act with civility. But how do people who are engaging in civil disobedience behave with civility? Sounds like an oxymoron, or morons.