Birds of Inwood - Visit Teri's new blog about birds!

Birds of Inwood - Visit Teri's new blog about birds!
A visual journey exploring the birds of Inwood and Northern Manhattan

Walking the Talk: Zuccotti Park to Union Square and Beyond

In addition to raising consciousness about the inequality of wealth in the United States and the lack of accountability of the new robber barons, the Occupy Wall Street movement is also providing the public a few activist lessons in New York geography. Members of the amorphous group, along with their community and labor supporters, have routinely taken to the public streets and parks of the city since September 17, and in the process, led us to new places both literally and figuratively. Who knew of Zuccotti Park before, right? Well, at least not the name.

Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square September 25, 2011
Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square September 25, 2011

Today's schedule includes a "NYC Billionaires Walking Tour" of the Upper East Side, a walking tour organized by labor and community groups to highlight the homes of the city's wealthiest men, including those of Rupert Murdoch, financier Howard Milstein, John Paulson, David Koch, and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. It was Dimon who presented the NYPD a large check to pay for the extra security expenses incurred by Occupy Wall Street actions. Because it's always "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" with New York, the sites on this planned activist tour represent our equivalent to the Gilded Age mansions of Henry Frick, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan. I have no idea what kind of artwork our current corporate overlords are collecting, but with any luck, future generations may be able to visit their homes in another hundred years as nice art museums.

Foley Square October 5, 2011
Foley Square October 5, 2011

Washington Square Park October 8, 2011
Washington Square Park October 8, 2011

So far, today's action on the Upper East Side will add more places to a growing tour of sites in the city - Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square, Union Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, Foley Square, and Washington Square Park. Other sites on the Occupy Wall Street itinerary will no doubt follow. For those interested in following along, either on the Internet or in real life, I'm including a map here of recent actions and sites. I will add to the map's list as necessary.


View Sites of Occupy Wall Street actions in NYC in a larger map


For further reading:

Occupy Wall Street Heads to Upper East Side for 'Millionaire's March' (DNA)

Facebook page for NYC Billionaires Walking Tour

Millionaires March Targets NY's Richest (NBCNew York) Note: story includes addresses

See Walking Off the Big Apple's page on Wall Street and Social Class for a timeline of events and related walks.

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