Wall Street De-Occupied

New York City police removed Occupy Wall Street demonstrators and their belongings from Zuccoti Park early Tuesday morning, halting nearly two months of continuous protest.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg attributed the decision to growing public health concerns, explaining that sanitary conditions in the park as well as the conduct of some demonstrators necessitated the removal.

“Unfortunately, the park was becoming a place where people came not to protest, but rather to break laws, and in some cases, to harm others,” Bloomberg said. “The majority of protestors have been peaceful and responsible. But an unfortunate minority have not been – and as the number of protestors has grown, this has created an intolerable situation.”

Bloomberg also argued that the presence of tents and other items had made it impossible for police and fire officials to monitor activity within the park or safely move through the park in the event of an emergency.

Demonstrators will be allowed to return to the park once it is cleared of items and cleaned by Brookfield Properties, who owns the park. However, they will not be permitted to bring tents or sleeping bags in with them.

Following the removal, demonstrators signaled a defiant tone, acknowledging that while they may have been physically removed, the movement will continue.

“You can’t evict an idea whose time has come,” a statement on Occupy Wall Street’s website states. “This burgeoning movement is more than a protest, more than an occupation, and more than any tactic.”

Demonstrators have promised to carry out protests in the coming days, including additional occupations and a day of “mass non-violent direct action” this Thursday.

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