While recent polling suggests that more than 70 percent of New Yorkers are comfortable with the idea of Occupy Wall Street continuing indefinitely, some of those living in the immediate vicinity of Zuccotti Park stand firmly with the 30 percent. Attendees of Thursday night’s Community Board 1 meeting voiced a wide range of complaints about the behavior of the protesters camped out in the Manhattan equivalent of their backyard:
“They are defecating on our doorsteps,” fumed Catherine Hughes, a member of Community Board 1 and a stay at home mom who has the misfortune of living one block from the chaos. “A lot of people are very frustrated. A lot of people are concerned about the safety of our kids.”
Other area residents said their intention was not to end the demonstration. Instead, like many New Yorkers, they just want their neighbors to quiet down a little. “It’s mostly a noise issue,” said board member Paul Cantor. “If people can’t sleep and children can’t sleep because the protesters are banging drums then that’s a problem.” As Intel’s Alex Klein reported, a lot of the protesters actually agree with him on that one.
Angry Manhattan residents lambast Zuccotti Park protesters [NYP]
