Showdown averted in Wall Street as protests spread

Financial Times

NEW YORK, Oct 14: A potential showdown between police and protesters who are occupying Wall Street was averted on Friday morning after the owners of the park where protesters have been camped out for the last month postponed a move to clear them out. Brookfield Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan, had told the demonstrators to leave the park by 7am Friday so the area could be cleaned. Brookfield had asked the New York Police Department to clear the park and the administration of Michael Bloomberg, New York mayor, had said protesters must leave temporarily.Shortly before the 7am deadline, however, Occupy Wall Street organisers announced to the crowd that Brookfield said it had put off the cleaning operation. A statement from Cas Holloway, New York deputy mayor, said: “Late last night, we received notice from the owners of Zuccotti Park – Brookfield Properties – that they are postponing their scheduled cleaning of the park, and for the time being withdrawing their request from earlier in the week for police assistance during their cleaning operation ... Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown, and we will continue to monitor the situation.” Occupy Wall Street participants had called Brookfield’s cleaning plans an “eviction” and urged their supporters to come to the park early Friday morning for a “nonviolent action”. The group also organised clean-up crews that worked on Thursday to sweep and mop the park ahead of the deadline. The Occupy Wall Street movement has gained increasing national and international attention as protests have spread to other cities including Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. Demonstrations were planned in London’s financial district on Saturday. In the US, unions, celebrities and some politicians have come out in support of the movement’s calls to regulate the financial sector, reduce economic inequality and end what they say is an overly close involvement between corporations and politics. Last week, President Barack Obama said the protests “express the frustration” of ordinary Americans with the financial sector. Some corporate executives have also said they understand protesters’ grievances. Laurence Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, said on Thursday that he was “very encouraged” by the protests and surprised they had not occurred sooner. He said that it would also be foolish to “turn our back on this protest movement.” But the movement has drawn criticism as well. John Paulson, the hedge fund manager, said in a statement this week: “Instead of vilifying our most successful businesses, we should be supporting them and encouraging them to remain in New York City and continue to grow.” Mr Paulson’s Manhattan home was one stop on a “millionaires march” organised earlier this week by community activists to call on the richest Americans to “pay their fair share”.