(Image Source: The New York Times)

BY EMOKE BEBIAK

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN
 

Police swarmed the original Occupy Wall Street camp in New York City’s Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, clearing it of protesters and tents.

A reporter for MSNBC explains the police operation that led to 70 arrests...

“Basically the police came in after about 1:00 a.m. or so. They moved in with the heavy duty, what's called emergency service unit trucks... They sort of gathered around the perimeter of the park and started to make announcements for people to leave the park...”

After ordering people to leave, police tore down tents and tossed out sleeping bags. Protesters occupied the park for two months. BBC News explains the clash between protesters and authorities....

“The protesters feel that they have been evicted, they say this is an infringement on their right to free speech and freedom of assembly, but the police told them that the conditions in the park are unsanitary and unhygienic, and they had to go while it was cleaned.”

But authorities had another reason for clearing out the encampment:  its impact on local businesses. A commentator for Fox News applauds the move saying...

“It’s about time, get these people out of there, clean up the park, we’ve had business owners in the area saying: ‘Get them away, my business is tanking.’ Finally these guys leave and clean up, but the question is, are they coming back?”

It’s a question now swirling. The New York Times reports Zuccotti Park has been blockaded, on orders from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, even though authorities had planned to open it after the clean-up.

“Mr. Bloomberg said the city had planned to reopen the park on Tuesday morning after the protesters’ tents and tarps had been removed and the stone steps had been cleaned. He said the police had already let about 50 protesters back in when officials received word of a temporary restraining order sought by lawyers for the protesters.”

The Christian Science Monitor points out Bloomberg is caught between a rock and a hard place.

“As a pro-business mayor, he has little sympathy for the protesters’ calls to enact higher taxes on top earners... However, he is acutely aware that New York is a longtime magnet for protesters. From the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War, protesters have used the city’s streets to make their cases.”

Clearing Zuccotti Park comes a day after police broke up the Occupy Oakland camp. Authorities took action against the encampment in Oakland after a man was shot and killed there.