As residents and office workers woke to a Zuccotti Park cleared of its protest encampment, some cheered the removal while others objected to the tough police action that brought it about, my colleague Cara Buckley reports:
One young father, pushing his toddler son in a stroller, gave police officers guarding Zuccotti Park a thumbs up. Another man, rushing by in a cream suit, flashed them a mega-watt grin. The sight of the park, freshly cleared and washed, stopped a blonde woman walking by in her tracks. "Ooooooh, good," she cooed.
The clearing of Zuccotti Park struck a deep blow to the Occupy Wall Street movement, which had used the site as its physical and spiritual heart. But as the newly ousted protesters gathered in Foley Square to decide what to do next, many residents, workers and business owners near the park felt deep relief. " Super ecstatic," said a young office worker. "Definitely relieved," said a young woman working behind the counter at Panini & Co., a cafe overlooking the park.
Paul Bruno, 54, who lives in the Bronx but has serviced elevators in Lower Manhattan for 30 years, had lunched daily in the park. He agreed with the protesters' message, he said, but not their means. "The movement is the right movement," he said, "but the movement got lost."
Another man, who worked nearby and said he could not give his name because it was against his company's rules, said it was time for the park to be cleared.
"It started out as a cool grassroots movement, he said, " and then it turned into a big homeless camp."
Still residents described a frightening scene last night, with police rushing into the park, bright lights glaring and helicopters whirring above. Mark Scherzer, a lawyer who lives half a block from the park, said he found the clearing deeply upsetting.
"I think the protesters were doing a valuable service," he said, "And I think it was lawful for them to be there."
