NY police take down ‘Occupy City Hall’ encampment

The New York Police Department (NYPD) took down the “Occupy City Hall” encampment early Wednesday after protesters there had demonstrated against police brutality for about a month.

Police dressed in riot gear removed dozens of people out of City Hall Park starting shortly before 4 a.m. Wednesday, after several homeless people had gathered at the encampment in recent weeks, The New York Times reported. Footage posted to social media showed police advancing with plastic shields.

Officers arrested seven people during the clearing after outbursts between officers and those at the camp. Police tossed the tarps and makeshift tents that encampment residents had been using into garbage trucks.

NYPD riot police have driven City Hall occupants, at least half of whom have no other housing options. Tents and signs have been trashed. pic.twitter.com/BUkXIRfQOd

— NYC Protest Updates 2020 (@protest_nyc) July 22, 2020

City cleaning employees showed up by 8 a.m. to clean the graffiti off nearby buildings, the Times reported. 

Occupy City Hall is no more. Protestors tell me police moved in at about 3:30 am with no warning telling everyone to leave or be arrested. Several garbage trucks moving in @wcbs880 pic.twitter.com/7vRKl3EK38

— Steve Burns (@StvBurns) July 22, 2020

And now a few arrests among protestors who didn’t clear, one taking a swing at an officer pic.twitter.com/HM9kyas8mx

— Steve Burns (@StvBurns) July 22, 2020

Protesters created the encampment on June 23, with more than 100 protesters, as they called for an at least $1 billion cut to the NYPD budget. The encampment, based off the Occupy Wall Street movement, grew with hundreds of people sleeping in the park every night, according to Times. 

The encampment’s creation came after protests broke out across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

The city’s council voted to move almost $1 billion from the police department’s budget, prompting many of the protesters to leave the encampment within days, although some demonstrators wanted more cuts for police. 

After the vote, the encampment ended up evolving to care for the homeless population, but issues broke out, including fights and harassment, according to the newspaper.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said during a Wednesday press briefing that he evaluated the situation for the past two weeks with police. He said the gathering became “less and less” about the protest.

“We always respect the right to protest, but we have to think about health and safety, and the health and safety issues were growing,” the mayor said.

De Blasio had previously said he would allow the police to decide when to intervene with the encampment. The NYPD did not immediately return a request for comment.

Jawanza James Williams, the director for organizing for VOCAL-NY, which organized the demonstrations, told The Hill that the raid exemplifies the “signs of fascism” in the U.S.

Williams criticized de Blasio for taking a “politically expedited position to crush” the encampment instead of addressing the problems of homelessness and the expected evictions of thousands during the pandemic.

“We should be very disappointed in our mayor,” he said, adding, “He has woefully failed us.”

The decision to take down the encampment comes as the federal government has sent armed personnel to quell protests in Portland, Ore., that have sometimes turned violent. President Trump has threatened to send officers to other American cities such as New York City and Chicago, citing heightened violence.