Well, it's his own damned fault. He should have put a stop to this nonsense right at the beginning.
At the beginning it was only a few people, and it has become customary for people to use public places such as parks to exercise their First Amendment rights of free speech, peaceful assembly, and petitioning for a redress of grievances. Had he done anything then, he would clearly have been in the wrong. It's only because the protest has lasted so long and become, apparently, a permanent fixture that there might be issues which allow him legally to clear the park.
It is customary for people to show up, protest, and then go home at night, possibly returning again in the morning if they wish an extended protest, not camp out on the ground. It's not the protest that he should have put a stop to, but the loitering.
And public health is an excellent reason for tossing them, as is the damage they're doing to the property.
Claims of public health problems or damage to the property are without foundation, in fact. The protest movement is very well organized. Trash is hauled off the property daily. There is a department of the Central Committee with explicit responsibility for sanitation and public safety. There has been no damage to the park itself. All this has been verified by inspectors from the company that owns the property.
You should not believe everything that circulates as a rumor about this movement, especially given that those opposed to it are clearly willing to lie about it.
What might give him a pretext is the fact that the park was never intended to be home to a permanent large-scale protest movement. But again, political considerations are obviously giving him pause.
Actually, I'm believing what's reported about the protest in a variety of news outlets on all points of the political spectrum.
And YOUR source of information would be . . . ?
It is his job, as mayor of NYC, to keep the peace and maintain order. Any "considerations" to the contrary have no place in his execution of his job.
