(CBS/AP)
NEW YORK - Without running water or working toilets, the crowded anti-Wall Street encampments across the country are not the most pleasant-smelling places to live. Nor are they quiet, with drumming and chanting echoing through the air at all hours of the night.
That's why police and neighbors in some cities are starting to lose patience with the protesters, who are preparing to settle in for the winter months.
In Oakland, Calif., police in riot gear fired tear gas and bean bags before daybreak Tuesday to disperse about 170 protesters who had been camping in front of City Hall for the past two weeks, and 75 people were arrested.
The mayor of Providence, R.I., is threatening to go to court within days to evict demonstrators from a park.
Tension remains after "Occupy Oakland" clashes
Anonymous threatens Fox over "Occupy" coverage
"Occupy Atlanta" camp cleared, dozens arrested
Anonymous threatens Fox over "Occupy" coverage
"Occupy Atlanta" camp cleared, dozens arrested
And businesses and residents near New York's Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, are demanding something be done to discourage the hundreds of protesters from urinating in the street and making noise at all hours.
"A lot of tourists coming down from hotels are so disgusted and disappointed when they see this," said Stacey Tzortzatos, manager of a sandwich shop near Zuccotti Park. "I hope for the sake of the city the mayor does close this down."
She complained that the protesters who come in by the dozen to use her bathroom dislodged a sink and caused a flood, and that police barricades are preventing her normal lunch crowd from stopping by.
As for the national mood on the protests, a CBS News/New York Times poll released Tuesday found that 43 percent of Americans agree with the views of the Occupy Wall Street movement and found a widespread belief that money and wealth should be distributed more evenly in America.
Twenty-seven percent of Americans said they disagree with the movement, according to the poll. Thirty percent said they were unsure.
Poll: 43 percent agree with Occupy Wall Street
Poll: Americans say no one has good jobs plan
Only 9% approve of Congress, says CBS/NYT poll
Poll: Americans say no one has good jobs plan
Only 9% approve of Congress, says CBS/NYT poll
The neighborhood board for the area surrounding Zuccotti Park voted Tuesday night to pass a resolution that proposed off-site portable bathrooms funded by local donors, said Julie Menin, head of the board. The resolution also requested that loud noises, like the blast of air horns and group chanting, be limited to two hours during the day.
"Drumming has been going on late at night," she said.
Other residents echoed Menin's complaints, CBS News station WCBS-TV in New York reports.
"There is drumming," resident Ro Sheffe said. "There are trumpets. There are bugles. There are tambourines. There's yelling and shouting and chanting late into the night."
John Tuttle works a few blocks away from the park and said some protesters' behavior has become a health hazard.
"I saw a gentleman who was actually using Tupperware containers to urinate in," Tuttle said. "He actually was dumping it in the street."
The park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, tried to push the protesters out two weeks ago to clean it but backed off at the last minute after a public outcry.
NYC "Occupy" showdown averted; Cleanup put off
Clash near Wall St. after park showdown averted
NYers to Occupy protesters: Lay off the drums
Clash near Wall St. after park showdown averted
NYers to Occupy protesters: Lay off the drums
Menin said the neighborhood does not believe the protesters should be kicked out. "We do not want the city to use force in any way," she said. "And we think it's possible to address quality-of-life issues."
Meanwhile, charges against hundreds of the New York protesters who were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge or at Union Square could be dropped if the protesters accept a deal from the Manhattan district attorney. But a lawyer representing protesters says that many of them will likely reject the deal because it is void if they are arrested again.
In Philadelphia, city officials have been waiting almost two weeks for Occupy Philly to respond to a letter containing a list of health and safety concerns. City Managing Director Richard Negrin said officials can't wait much longer to address hazards such as smoking in tightly packed tents, camp layouts that hinder emergency access, and exposure to human waste.
"They just can't ignore us indefinitely," Negrin said Tuesday. "Every day that they haven't addressed these public safety concerns simply increases the risk."
Stephen Campbell, a protester in Boston, said the troublemakers are the minority.
"We have a policy here: no drugs, no alcohol," he said. "Us occupiers really try to stick true to that. Other people who move in, who maybe have an alcohol problem or a drug problem, you know, we're not fully equipped to handle things like that."
City officials in Oakland had initially been supportive of the protesters, with Mayor Jean Quan saying that sometimes "democracy is messy." But tensions reached a boiling point after a sexual assault, a severe beating and a fire were reported and paramedics were denied access to the camp, according to city officials. They also cited complaints about threatening behavior and concerns about rats, fire hazards and public urination.
When police moved in, they were pelted with rocks, bottles and utensils from people in the camp's kitchen area, but no injuries were reported. Protesters were taken away in plastic handcuffs, most of them arrested on suspicion of illegal lodging.
No comments:
Post a Comment