PORTLAND, Maine — One of the first encampments inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement is well on its way to being dismantled, though Portland officials decided Monday to allow campers another four days to remove 16 tents that remained Monday.
Demonstrators who touted their tent city in Lincoln Park as the oldest remaining Occupy-style encampment vowed to continue the discussion that the movement started about corporate excesses and economic inequality.
“Just because the occupation is changing form doesn’t mean it’s going away,” said Heather Curtis, one of the campers, before she started hauling away her belongings.
The campers were supposed to be out of Lincoln Park by Monday morning and dismantled many tents over the weekend. But the city granted a request by the group’s attorney to give demonstrators until Friday to finish the cleanup.
The Portland demonstrators have been in Lincoln Park since Oct. 3 and have company in abandoning their encampments. A new wave of eviction orders has been issued in cities including Miami, Washington and Pittsburgh.
At one point, as many as 70 tents were set up in Lincoln Park, but that number had dropped to a couple dozen by the time a state judge last week declined to grant OccupyMaine’s request for injunction to prevent the city from enforcing an eviction notice issued on Dec. 15.
City officials cited concerns about disturbances, public safety and sanitation at the park, which is supposed to close between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
OccupyMaine, which already has office space elsewhere in the city, plans to continue get out its message through other means.
“You can only fight for some long and you realize at the end that it’s a new beginning,” said Deese Hamilton, one of the four named plaintiffs in the OccupyMaine lawsuit.
OccupyMaine started up two weeks after Occupy Wall Street demonstrators set up tents and began sleeping in New York’s Zuccotti Park, launching its first demonstration on Oct. 1 in Monument Square and moving to Lincoln Park two days later.
The Portland group described the Lincoln Park encampment as the longest-running occupation.
Other Occupy-related groups in Maine already dissolved. A group camped out at Augusta’s Capitol Park lost a fight in federal court, and a group at the Bangor Public Library voluntarily left the grounds.
Mommy and Daddy always said I was special, so why do I have to obey the law?
How can the police selectively choose to enforce laws. Enforce the law and arrest the trespassers.
I wish the BDN would mention the Flag these losers were burning this morning!!!
Pravda on the Penobscot would never print anything bad about their poster children.
I saw that!!!! I spent 3 tours in the Middle East, proudly serving under that very flag that represents one of the finest nations in the world. I have neighbors who haven’t served, but also vehemently cherish the cloth that symbolizes our fine nation. Yes, this nation is not perfect, and we all have the freedom to speak our minds. Unfortunately, burning the flag falls under that freedom. I could go on…but I won’t because then I will really be mad and say something that would cause BDN to remove my comment.
Perhaps I should just say, “Ditto, Skidoo31!” Lots of people like your short and simple comment.
You can be guarenteed that if this was a teaparty movement they would all be arrested!
If it was a tea party movement the Governor would have issued an executive order to let them stay…
If it was a tea party rally, there is a pretty good chance that there wouldn’t be urine, feces, and trash all over the place
True, cause they would all have suites at Portland’s top hotels. Don’t they just hire others to do their protesting for them anyway?
So you admit that there would be urine, feces, and trash all over the place if it was an Occupy Rally? It was worth reading your semi-understandable posts just for that.
Just in your head, ….. it might be so.
Really, havent heard about any murders or rapes either with the teaparty rallies!
Nor in their gated neighborhoods.
I dont live in a gated neighborhood.
I love gated neighborhoods
If you can live in one based on the fruit of your efforts then who am I to say that you shouldnt be able to live in one?
Why isn’t it a Tea Party protest ?
Where did they go ?
Gone to Republicans, everyone….
Good work Occupy Portland. Heather Curtis is correct. The Occupy Movement is not going away; after all it’s only a few months old and will ‘molt’ as spring arrives. The Sit-In movement of Feb 1960 took months to spread and eventually spawned the Freedom Riders, SNCC in Mississippi, Freedom Summer and culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1965. It began with four black college 18 year old college freshman in the days before the Internet and Twitter. It moved the Civil Rights movement out of the black churches of the 50s and to young people and college students;…..and it trained the future anti war activists that rose up to oppose the Vietnam War. Hold on to your seats rednecks— it’s going to be a bumpy decade.
ZZZZZZZZZZ. Snort.
How can you compare whining about having to work for a living, to Civil Rights and Anti-War protests?
Easy, I just did ….. Civil justice and economic justice are linked ….. The civil rights movement was about more than seats on a bus, drinking fountains and seating in a restaurant. Segregation was institutionalized racism protected by the state governments. Wall Street is institutionalized theft, protected by Congress…… It creates an elite 1% that sits on all the money while the rest scramble for the scraps.
Its the progressive lefty,s mind. We need a detoxing agent for kook-aid. I thought if the police found you in the park sleeping .While prior Defecating on his car you were considered to be a half a sandwich short of a picnic.Then Taken somewhere for tests. Now we find out they were just liberals.Got to find the secret detox before they hurt themselves.
LMFAO
The vote is being stolen. blackboxvoting.ORG
OMG… could it be that it is the real homeless that still are there ?
Interesting to see what becomes of them, Portland. ?
…..
It is only called that when we fight back.
http://youtu.be/uMBAv2diQ3A
….
Lol! Good one.
They said the same on tv that the homeless will be the only ones there
Four individuals listed as plaintiffs on the lawsuit filed against the City. So I assume these people will be billed for the clean up or do the ” people” have to file a law suit against them to recover money spent to clean the park?
So you want these people arrested for trespassing but if a person causes an accident an the person is hurt the police say no charges files now whats wrong with this ??
What makes you think you know what I want ?
It is not that.
I like conservative math though.
So there are your two wrongs, so have you got a right, now ?
Spin, baby, spin.
…. but wolly’s spelling an(d)punctuation live on with the odd logic.
Your spelling, punctuation and sentence structure is what’s wrong. It makes it kind of hard to comprehend your posts.
Why don’t you show us how to write what i said ?
I never have understood some folks obsession with language arts.It’s a opinion posting site not a freakin high school class.
purchase a buss ticket to chicago (to visit the home of the guy that gave them free cell phones) and send them on their way!!
It’s bus not buss
Loving the comments today, keep up the good work…
Gotta love the liberal BDN, why don’t all the staff writers go join the occupy crap! And why are they allowed more time? Give me a break they have been there long enough and need to get the hell out!
My heroes! The true patriots! Now go get a job and
pay for what you borrow.
Let me ask you all this question . What would happen to the United States if other countries said that’s it we are not lending the USA any more money ? The answer could be found here www.crisis12.com
the producers would hang on to what they worked for. The people with no responsibilty would suffer.Barter town!
If they have any thing to barter with ?
replying to treehugger. You do realize that the rich and poor are swapping places constantly.Oh right living off other peoples money would not teach that. Do theliberals have some sor tof college teaching leach 101?Or maybe majoring in mediocracy ? replying to treehugger
Charge them a camping site FEE plus dumpster FEE. Take it out of their governement paychecks. If they are getting a tax refund take that for expenses occurred. No one camps for FREE, unless they get permission from a private landowner. Then they had better carry their garbage out or I bet the landowner won’t give permission again.
So is Portland sending Heather Curtis the bill for the piggery cleanup and dumpsters?