A Walk in the Park: Mayor Criticizes Elected Officials Over Zuccotti Park

During his weekly WOR radio show on Friday Mayor Bloomberg said Brookfield Office Properties - the real estate firm that owns Zuccotti Park - made the decision not to try to clean up the park as it had announced after the company was "inundated" with threatening calls from elected city officials.

"Brookfield got lots of calls from many elected officials threatening them and saying if you don't stop this, we'll make your life more difficult. If those elected officials spent half as much time trying to promote the city and get jobs to come here, we would go a long ways towards answering the concerns of the protesters," said Bloomberg.

The mayor said he didn't know which officials allegedly made the threats and added that while he lacked firsthand knowledge of the conversations, he was told the officials generally threatened to "make life more difficult" for the real estate company.

Brookfield Properties issued a statement later Friday saying "a number of local political leaders" requested the cleaning of the park be deferred for "a short period of time." But the company declined to provide specifics on which city officials had made the calls or whether they were considered threatening.

On Thursday night the police initially tried to stop a press conference attended by more than a dozen lawmakers from starting, saying that it was on private land.

Felix Rivera-Pitre, a former dancer who lives at the YMCA in Jamaica, Queens, Rivera-Pitre said he was walking on William St. with other protesters when he 'shot the cop a look.' <br><br> 'The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face,' he told The Gothamist. 'It tore my earring out.'

NYPD Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona delivering what appears to be a sucker punch to the face of protester Felix Rivera-Pitre, who seems to be backing away from the officer. (Photo: Andrew Gombert/EPA)

After the park cleaning show-down was averted a number of people marched towards Wall Street where 14 people were arrested according to the NYPD. On William St. one protester, 31-year-old Felix Rivera-Pitre who is reportedly HIV positive was punched in the face on William St. after allegedly giving the Deputy Inspector a "dirty look," after being told to move to the sidewalk. The NYPD contend - but no evidence has surfaced publically - that Rivera-Pitre tried to elbow the police supervisor before the video started. The violent encounter was captured on video from multiple sources including an angle of what proceeded the incident.

Mean while the Occupy Wall Street movement has also spread across hundreds of cities across Europe.

Manhattan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters and the officials who support them on his radio show Friday just hours after Brookfield Properties, owner of Zuccotti Park, backed off of their plans to clean out the encampment. NY1’s Courtney Gross filed the following report.

“Occupy Wall Street” protesters may get to stay put in Zuccotti Park for now, but they aren't currying much favor with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"The bottom line is, I don't necessarily agree with their message or their targets. Here in New York City, the Wall Street industry is a vitally important industry. Its tax dollars are how we pay our cops and firefighters and teachers. You see some of the municipal unions trying to help the protesters. Helping them is one thing. Destroying our tax base just isn't good," said Bloomberg on his radio show.

The mayor also took a stab at politicians who support the movement.

The mayor said he was notified by the property manager's decision to hold off on the clean sweep at midnight on Friday. The public didn't get word for seven hours after huge crowds descended downtown.

Representatives from Brookfield, the property manager, say the company delayed cleaning the area at the request of local elected officials

Some of those officials say Bloomberg should stop playing politics.

"Throw away the political rhetoric just for a couple of days and work with the elected officials and work with the other stakeholders and we will get through this. Listen, right now the whole world is watching Zuccotti Park," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

Others say Bloomberg should lend an ear to the hordes settled downtown.

"The mayor has never been connected to the city. The mayor is one of the one percent, one of the billionaires who has other resources, who believes they own the city,” said City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.

The mayor said he would be monitoring the situation at Zuccotti Park over the next several days. He said his goal is to balance public safety with the first amendment.

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