E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com
People crowd on a street in downtown New York City early on Nov. 15, after the police cleared Zuccotti Park and protesters were pushed into the side streets.
Msnbc.com's John Makely and Jonathan Woods have been photographing the scenes around Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan since the early hours of Tuesday morning. They gave a few impressions of what they have seen.
Jonathan Woods writes:
I got here around 3 a.m. ET and I really didn’t know what to expect. The first thing I saw when I walked onto Worth Street was a pile of dozens of bags of trash that the protesters had thrown into the street.
As I walked closer to Zuccotti Park the police presence became overwhelming. The streets surrounding the park were heavily barricaded.
Scuffles between police and protesters were few and far between -- most of those that I did see involved people refusing to get back on the sidewalk.
Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com
Police and protesters near Zuccotti Park on Nov. 15.
As I write it's 7.30 a.m. and most people are standing around waiting for somethign to happen. Protesters and press are thinly lining the sidewalks. It's turned into a waiting game.
Looking at Zuccotti Park, with the exception of the police and cleaning crews, if you hadn’t been aware of what transpired here since September 17, you would have no idea there had been a camp there until a few hours ago. It's alarmingly clean, it's spotless.
As New Yorkers made their morning commutes, some were surprised to see the park clear of the protesters. One woman passing by was rejoicing at how clean it was. She kept exclaiming, "It’s beautiful, the park is beautiful!" as she went.
John Makely / msnbc.com
A heavy police presence in lower Manhattan on Nov. 15.
On the opposite side of Zuccotti park, the scene was quite different.
John Makely writes:
Broadway and Pine Street were flooded with protesters who had either fled Zuccotti Park when the police began clearing it or arrived afterwards and could get no closer. Protesters were standing on NYPD vehicles and sitting in the middle of the intersection.
While the scene wasn't tense there was an expectation that something would happen. Reinforcements beefed up the NYPD ranks and they warned those within earshot to clear out. Violent pushing, shoving and some punching later and the protesters were back on the sidewalk. Then a projectile was thrown from the crowd toward the police and about 30 seconds later there was a surge into the sidewalk by about 20 officers to attempt to catch whoever had thrown the object.
Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com
Police clear protesters from the area around Zuccotti Park on Nov. 15.
Tense expressions on the NYPD and vocal rants from the protesters, some taunting, "The more you attack us the stronger we get", some trying to find common ground. One officer yelled back "Shut your mouth!"
Police opened up a sidewalk leading to Zuccotti Park, which now stands freshly washed, with new barricades and a lot more officers.
John Makely / msnbc.com
NYPD officers surround Zuccotti park after cleaning crews finished removing tents and power-washing the plaza.
Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com
Members of the press, including John Makely of msnbc.com, center, work alongside tired protesters near Zuccotti Park early on Nov. 15.
Read our latest news story on the clearance of Zuccotti Park and see more coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement on PhotoBlog.
Leave a Comment:
Interesting pictures... a little too late, in my opinion. The stuff that needed to be documented and photographed happened last night--when the police were evicting protesters from the park and sanitation workers were throwing all the belongings of protesters and tossing them in the "dump," as they themselves said. The police had no right to clear out the protesters in the park, and that's why early this morning, a judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the city and police from evicting the protesters from the encampment--really huge news--we'll see how it lasts. I'm watching Democracy Now! and they were there all night reporting from the scene in Zuccotti Park and they interviewed Danny Alterman who is a longtime civil rights attorney and helped file the injunction to prevent police from evicting protesters. Definitely check it out here: www.democracynow.org
The park is privately owned and the protestors were told they could return after the cleanup
it's about time they clean this park the filth garbage and smell has affected the area tremendously. All this protest is doing is giving the few knuckleheads 50 minutes of fame , and wasting millions of the taxpayers' dollars. It's not the sixties or seventies stop wasting taxpayers' money ,they're dumb party is over
its not costing the tax payers anything yet im sure the 6million goldman sachs gave the police in september to control OWS is still covering it
hey Marv your far from marvelous, your probably one of the morons that go to Starbucks and gives the server crap cause it took to long to get your coffee latte supreme ,and bagel so you have the energy to get your job of ripping off the people you scam on wall street, next crash make sure you go to the roof and learn to fly back to Kansas, and if it takes you a few extra minutes to get to work leave earlier.
BRAVO to YOU, Protesters... YOU are the TRUE Patriots.
BRAVO to YOU, Protesters... YOU are the TRUE Patriots.
BRAVO to YOU, Protesters... YOU are the TRUE Patriots.
THANK YOU.
You are all IDIOTS! Waste or air in my opinion and simply a drain on society. You have no central agenda. It is clear that there are several different groups that simply don't know what they are protesting. WHAT IS YOUR POINT? We al know the government and big business screa the little guys. Your temper tantrums in the park are pointless and serve NO purpose. Stop wasting my tax dollars already. if you want to change things get of your asses and do it. Not by stupid sit ins in the parks but from with in. Stop voting in the same useless politicians and start running for office yourselfs. Find unified candidates and use the same power of social media that drove revolutions in the middle east to run for offices throughout the nation. Yup, its harder than simply runnin gyour mouth and no its not the quick fix this generation has come to expect but it is the way change is made without destroying everything around you in the process.
Right on, Thomas!
muhamed jesus h vishnu-goldstein - go back under the rock from whence you came.
idiot
idiot
idiot
I sat and watched the live video feed of the raid and of the police dumping books, tents, computers, etc. into huge piles in the streets. When I watched the occupy groups in other cities being dismantled by police I had thought to myself 'Well at least the Wall Street group is still being respected and left alone. So it made me almost nauseous to watch the destruction of what so many dedicated people have worked for 2 months to build. I have felt that those occupiers are on duty, working for ME and my family, while I sit at home in comfort. Then to see a huge team of big bullies come in and destroy what had been so carefully assembled in an effort to awaken America and point us all in a new economic direction just sickened me. I was so furious I sent 2 emails to Mayor Bloomberg telling him what I thought of his actions. I hope thousands of people did the same. I do believe, though, that the occupy movement will only continue to grow stronger and more vocal as these raids take place.