Dear Commons Community,

The Wall Street protesters (Occupy Wall Street) upped their actions yesterday by blocking the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge.  The police likewise upped their response by arresting 700 protesters.   This follows last week’s confrontation when police used pepper-spray to disperse the protesters.  The NY Times is reporting that:

“protesters … believed the police had tricked them, allowing them onto the bridge, and even escorting them partway across, only to trap them in orange netting after hundreds had entered.

“The cops watched and did nothing, indeed, seemed to guide us onto the roadway,” said Jesse A. Myerson, a media coordinator for Occupy Wall Street who marched but was not arrested.”

The walk across the Brooklyn Bridge was a major change in the way the protest has been conducted.  For the past two weeks, the protest has been confined to the Wall Street area with protesters staying on the sidewalks.

Tony