Three months after it began, the Occupy Wall Street protest hoped to begin Occupy 2.0, announcing plans to move into a large, unused site one mile north of the their original location at Zucotti Park. The vacant site, owned by the real estate arm of lower Manhattan’s Trinity Church, is vacant but is slated for construction of a school in the next few years. A local cultural council for art projects is currently using it.
On November 15, the night of the eviction from Zucotti Park, some protestors tried to move to this area but were cleared out by police. The latest action was announced in advance on-line, encouraging both a large turnout and a heavy police presence. Billed as a “reoccupation party,” the action was accompanied by live broadcast music from WBAI radio by Lou Reed, Titus Andronicus, and others.
The action has been titled #D17: Take Back the Commons. December 17th is the three-month anniversary of the protest, as well as the one-year anniversary of the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, which sparked the Arab Spring, which has provided some of the inspiration for the Occupy movement.
Organizers explained that the movement needed to occupy physical space for symbolic reasons, as well as to meet the practical need for housing, food, and a public meeting space. The People’s Library, partly destroyed and lost when Zucotti Park was raided, made a return as well.
In correspondence with the church released online, the church explained that they had concerns for health and safety. Protestors promised to vacate the site when construction commences and garnered support from other religious figures in New York and abroad. Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town who cited the important role of Trinity Church in the struggle against apartheid, called on the church to reach an arrangement with the occupy movement, later issuing a second statement urging protestors to stay within the law.
Re Occupy & Trinity Church:
Re Occupy & Trinity Church: You don’t need to be Christian, or even religious, to understand -and embrace- the idea that "Whatsoever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." But many of the 1%, in blind greed and endless schemes, have forgotten this. They have closed their eyes to what the word "society" should really mean, and what it can mean. But due to Occupy Wall Street, we are finally talking less about CUTS and more about BLEEDING. Instead of demanding m-o-r-e budget cuts -to be borne by the middle class and poor- we are FINALLY focusing on the shameful bleeding that the poor and middle class has endured, for all too long. Instead of talking about even m-o-r-e cuts in the taxes of millionaires....we are now talking about fairness and justice - about an economy and a political system that is increasingly run for the rich, and by the rich. Instead of talking about LESS government, we are talking about a government that WORKS FOR ALL OF US, not just a favored few. Thank you OWS, for reminding us that people -ordinary working people- really DO matter, and for helping open our eyes to what’s going on in this country, and why. The attempt by OWS to occupy Duarte Square (the empty lot owned by Trinity Church) is much more than a plea for sanctuary. For like Zuccotti Park, it’s an attempt to carve out a protected space, a living conscience for the city, amid the repression. A refuge...in a city where control-freaks would sweep us under the rug, and out of the way. In a city where they would pen us in, and try to permit us to death. In a city that tells us to “move on, move on”..... you don’t belong, you don’t count, you don’t have a right to be here...don’t assemble, don’t block the street, don’t trespass, don’t EXIST! They would deny us, deny our lives, deny our very futures. IF WE LET THEM. But OWS responds, both in word and in DEED: it says we’ve had ENOUGH - we BELONG, we STAND our ground, and we DO matter! This IS our land, and we want it BACK! The word OCCUPY...says it all! That’s why OWS has captured our imagination. That’s why a living breathing OCCUPIED public space is important for OWS. Like Lady Liberty’s never extinguished torch that burns in our harbor, OWS needs to have a concrete, persistent, in-your-face presence.. ..to continually remind us of what we’ve lost, of what we are, and what we can be; a protected place to affirm, illuminate, defy...and inspire. Trinity Church, with its oft-proclaimed ideals (and its huge land holdings), should look deep into its collective soul, do the right thing, and help OWS secure a sanctuary. Not merely a space of refuge, but an enclave of hope, of non-violent change, and compassion. And dare I say: a space of love - love of country, love of your fellow man and woman, love for the poor and oppressed. Can thoughtful Christians argue with these simple Christian / these simple HUMAN values? For if Christ were physically with us today, as He was 2000 years ago, He would be among the FIRST to climb those fences, and occupy Trinity’s Duarte Square. Of this I am certain. Let us hope and pray and plea...that Trinity Church -and others- hear the call, and respond. For the old ways are not working. Find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this: Each of us has only one brief life....one chance....one roll of the dice....and many choices. The time has come to choose....to risk...and to act. If not now...then when? If not you, then....who? You DO have the power my friend....and the choice IS yours. Don’t let your hopes and dreams die: LIVE YOUR IDEALS!