Occupy Wall street: nettoyage reporté!

On craint une escalade et une confrontation violente avec les manifestants... En même temps c'est une "concession" qui risque d'encourager les participants.

La raison officielle présentée pour justifier le report du nettoyage est le retrait de la demande du propriétaire du Zucotti park, Brookfield Properties. On prétend être en mesure de maintenir le parc propre et sécuritaire.

"The cleanup of the Lower Manhattan park that has been occupied by protesters for nearly a month was postponed Friday shortly before it was supposed to begin, averting a feared showdown between the police and demonstrators who had vowed to resist any efforts to evict them from their encampment.

But sporadic clashes between protestors and the police erupted anyway when demonstrators started marching through the winding streets of Lower Manhattan after learning that the cleanup had been called off. A number of protestors were seen being taken into custody.

The announcement on the cleanup was made by the Bloomberg administration around 6:20 a.m., about 40 minutes before workers were scheduled to enter Zuccotti Park, which has been the home base for the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators angered by what they see as an unfair and corrupt financial system.

“Late last night, we received notice from the owners of Zuccotti Park — Brookfield Properties — that they are postponing their scheduled cleaning of the park, and for the time being withdrawing their request from earlier in the week for police assistance during their cleaning operation,” Deputy Mayor Caswell F. Holloway said in a statement.

“Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use,” Mr. Holloway said, “and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown.”

As news that the cleanup had been called off rippled through Zuccotti Park, cheers erupted among demonstrators who had been preparing for a possible confrontation.

“I did not come here to look for a fight,” said Steve Sachs, of Highstown, N.J. “I’ve never been in a fight in my life. I’ve never been arrested. But I was ready to be arrested over this.”

But clashes between the police and protestors flared on various streets in the Financial Districts."

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/cleanup-of-zuccotti-park-cancelled/?hp