Forum Post: NYC has 500 'Zuccotti Plazas'! (privatly own public places)

Zuccotti Plaza is merely one of many of NYC's publicly own private place (POP). These spaces, like Zuccotti Plaze, offer a unique spacial conduit for this movement to gain critical momentum. Everybody should know, there are more than 500 of such privately owned public spaces (POPS).

POPs are a safe haven for this grass-root movement to gain necessary momentum. In fact, neither the policy nor the owners of these public places appear to have the right to evict people from them, and unlike with city parks (tomkin square, washington square, union square, etc.) it is far from clear what the city's legal remedies are.

This explains why Zuccotti Plaza has become a de facto 'demilitarized-zone'. The police has no jurisdiction over them. All they can do is enclose them. Therefore, it is a deception to say that Blomberg decided to let people stay in Zicotti Park 'indefinitely'. Fact is, city officials have not figured out ways to clam down on this particular law/policy.

See: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/pops/pops_inventory.shtml http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/priv/mndist1.shtml (downtown) http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/priv/mndist2.shtml (Greenwich village) etc.

This article is informative: http://www.dnainfo.com/20111010/downtown/occupy-wall-street-puts-spotlight-on-privately-owned-public-spaces

some excerpts:

Jerold Kayden, a professor of urban planning and design at Harvard University “Whether intentionally or inadvertently, [choosing Zuccotti] was a very intelligent tactical move on their part,”

“According to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, the regulations mean neither police nor Brookfield have the power to kick the protesters out.”

“Right now, they are there and the owners of that plaza don’t have the legal right to reject them,” Kelly told reporters last week when quizzed about the city’s options, suggesting that the only way to boot the demonstrators might be through the courts.”