The New York Daily News just published this headline:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Occupy Wall Street protesters: City will now require permits
Sounds like the political screws are beginning to tighten for the Mayor of New York and he needs to keep local business happy by claiming to enforce the laws but understands that protesters have the right to walk on the sidewalk. While some of this is may be debate among the higher ups, it is clear that no one can make a clear decision about what to do because they desperately want to communicate with someone in charge:
"It's a little bit complicated by there's nobody to work it out with," he said. "There just is not any one group, one idealogy, one objective, one person to negotiate with."
Three cheers for a leaderless movement!
The more I watch Occupy Wall Street in action, the more I like it. I like that there are no demands and I like that there are no leaders. I like that folks are having to think hard and to change their perceptions about how government can and should work. I want to see more before I see less. I'm not ready for leaders nor am a I ready for a consistent message to feed the media.
What I like most is that the movement is causing people to talk - I've had more conversations with my family about government and politics that are pushing the envelope than we have had in a long time. And, believe me, my husband and my kids and I talk politics a lot. This movement is making us think outside the box. Maybe it will help our elected representatives to start thinking outside the box as well.
As to those permits, it doesn't sound like OWS should do anything different from what they already are doing. The Mayor seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time:
The city is planning to take a harder line on demonstrators camping out in Zuccotti Park - and insist on permits every time they want to march through Lower Manhattan, he said.
"We will start enforcing that more," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show.
The protesters have a Constitutional right to demonstrate and have mostly been "peaceful," the mayor added.
"There's not been any of the kind of craziness you see elsewhere," he said. "You may not like it, but these people have generally obeyed the law.
If they have generally obeyed the law, then there is no need to enforce the laws any more strenuously than they already have, right? Stay on the sidewalks, keep moving, don't block traffic. Sounds pretty straightforward to me. The only reason you need to apply for a permit:
A permit is required to conduct a procession, parade or race within the City of New York and must be obtained from the Police Commissioner.
Okay folks. You know the rules. And, just in case you need a reminder, from the US Day of Rage webpage:
Provided that you do not block building entrances or more than half of a sidewalk, it is legal to have a moving picket line and hand out literature. You are also legally allowed to use whistles, drums, and any other non-amplified generators of sound. Unless a permit is obtained, it is unlawful to march in the streets, have a procession with 50 or more automobiles or bicycles, gather with more than 20 people in a public park, or use amplified sound. A permit is not being requested for the occupation. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, amplified sound is prohibited “within 500 feet of a school, courthouse or church during hours of school court or worship, or within 500 feet of a hospital... [and] between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m. in nonresidential areas.”
Happy Occupying! And, remember, the police are part of the 99%. Remind them when you get the chance.