Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

By Matthew Russell Lee

LOWER MANHATTAN, October 5 -- As Foley Square filled with students and unionists and New Yorkers of all stripes on Wednesday afternoon, police helicopters hovered overhead and too many union leaders gave speeches. In the middle of the crowd drumming started, and chants of "JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, take your crisis off our backs."

Up in the front the speeches ranged from 32BJ, whose workers were laid off at the United Nations under Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to Transportation Workers Union Local 100, which sued to try to stop its members from having to drive busses filled with arrested protesters, as Inner City Press covered on October 1. The lawsuit has failed, at least for now.

Finally past 5 pm the march started, snaking west on Chambers Street and south again on Broadway. It was slow going. Cutting out of the pen and behind the courthouses, office workers heading to the subway told Inner City Press, "I agree with them, mostly." Some men in suits talked dismissively. But the crowd was larger than it seemed anyone expected.

Foley Square on Oct 5 before marching to #OccupyWallStreet (c)MRLee

  Some of the signs touched on foreign policy, like "Occupy Wall Street, Unoccupy Palestine." One wondered what the Obama administration, and the US Mission to the UN, would say about the protests of bail out that have occurred under Obama. The movement is perceived as a left wing Tea Party, somehow helpful or to be used by Obama. But is it?

  Down in Zuccotti Park or Liberty Plaza, the crowd gathered. "All day, all week -- occupy Wall Street!" some chanted.

  In trying to get to free Internet to upload this story, Inner City Press was stopped by police on Nassau Street below Cedar, two blocks from Wall Street. People in suits were let through; Inner City Press and others were not. An officer Vargas threatened to make an arrest. But a few blocks later, this story was up.

And this: video here