Protesters told New York City they weren’t going to abandon Zuccotti Park after Mayor Bloomberg asked people to leave so the sit-in site can be cleaned up. But as 7 a.m. approached, it turned out that unbending protesters didn’t have to budge after all.
City officials were notified by the owner of the park—Brookfield Properties—that they are postponing the cleanup and would no longer require police assistance in moving protesters after working out an arrangement with organizers to make sure that the site will remain clean for public use.
“Occupy Wall Street: People power triumphs over Wall Street’s bid to end the protests,” organizers said on the Occupy Wall Street website. “Mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield inc. back down on eviction.”
Thousands of protesters—who have declared themselves the 99 percent—gathered around 6 a.m. on Friday at the official Occupy Wall Street living space as a showdown with the NYPD loomed.
Instead, the Bloomberg administration made the announcement of the cancellation about 40 minutes before protesters were asked to leave the site. Demonstrators cheered the news and hailed it as a victory against the giant corporations they have been protesting against the last four weeks.
“We are winning and Wall Street is afraid,” one protester said on the Occupy Wall Street website.
On Thursday, organizers issued a mandatory call for action titled: “Keep [Mayor] Bloomberg and [NYPD Commissioner] Kelly from Evicting #OWS.”
Bloomberg told protesters that their removal from the site would be temporary, but suspicious demonstrators said the city’s attempt to push them out of the park is the beginning of a shut down of their occupation.
Organizers are now preparing for a “global day of action” on Saturday, as they continue to protest Wall Street greed.
Saturday’s march is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and will be highlighted by an “Occupy Times Square” rally at 5 p.m.
