City sets new terms for Occupy Philly
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City sets new terms for Occupy Philly
Update:
City officials and members of Occupy Philly just met with the media.
The city outlined the terms of a potential new permit for Thomas Paine Plaza, outside of the Municipal Services Building.
The permit would allow protesters to demonstrate from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Overnight camping would not be allowed. In fact, city officials said, no tents would be allowed at the site. The city would, however, permit one canopy to be erected for demonstrators to pass out information.
The new permit would last until Dec. 20.
Gwen Snyder, a member of Occupy Philly, said the movement's lawyers will review the city's proposal tonight. Members would discuss the pros and cons of the city's offer, but a vote wouldn't be held until tomorrow, Snyder said.
Everett Gillison, Mayor Nutter's chief of staff, said Occupy Philly has 48 hours to respond to the city's offer. He added that the city would give demonstrators two days' noticed before possibly evicting them from Dilworth Plaza.
A possible eviction, he said, wouldn't happen before Thanksgiving.
City officials are expected to sit down soon with members of Occupy Philly at the Municipal Services Building across the street from City Hall.
Last week, members of Mayor Nutter's administration said the city expected to have a response by tonight to an application for a permit was submitted by members of the protest movement.
The application -- submitted by a small faction of Occupy Philly known the "Reasonable Solutions People" -- was for a permit that would allow the protesters to demonstrate at Thomas Paine Plaza, outside of the MSB.
A member of Nutter's staff said the city might have an update on the discussions by about 7 tonight.
The protesters have spent the last month camping out on Dilworth Plaza, which is slated to undergo a $50 million renovation. The city began posting notices late last week that urged the protesterst to leave "immediately" because of the pending the project.
Shortly after 5 tonight, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and other police officials left a meeting with Managing Director Rich Negrin and other leaders.
Ramsey said any decision to force the protesters out of the plaza was "over my pay grade."
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- traitor to the declaration of independence and what those founding fathers stood for. leave america now.
— selophane43 - You should probably change your anarchy symbol....the founding fathers were against that too
— jonline - You'd be surprised how supportive of Anarchy the foudning fathers were. Most were minarchists, supporting as small of a government as feasible. Of course every single one of them would have supported his right to have an anarchy symbol as his logo. Most of the founding fathers were pretty big fans of the right to free speech — bpmangan
- Ramsey is the highest paid "civil servant" in the city - much higher than the mayor. No one is above his pay grade.— teacherma
- Imagine Frank Rizzo "negotiating" with these urinating parasites.— Disco Dave
- A real Philadelphian does not have to imagine. Frank Rizzo patiently waited for a year with a police blockade of MOVE in Powelton Village, who were an armed group openly breaking the law by declaring armed insurrection and brandishing their weapons in the face of the police. Rizzo did not drop a bomb on them and let half the neighborhood burn down, unlike the Goode, who claims to be a man of the cloth. Nutter is dealing with political dissent, not armed revolt. One is guaranteed by the US Constitution the other is what started our Civil War.
- Occupy should just let the homeless protest at night. The city has never really worried about them camping out overnight. And Ramsey is just a politician with a badge.— Trident252
- A scar on the face of Philadelphia. The mayor is an embarrassment.— icantbelieveit
- Dear City of Philly, bring lots of internet tough guys. And anonymity. Don't forget the anonymity.— AreaMan
- I once held an event on Dilworth Plaza. I needed all kind of permits; including the health department. Why aren't these standards being applied here. Shut it down.— Captain Terrific
- get...them....out...
hey areaman...
are you saying YOUR a tough guy?
are you even from the city???
didnt think so.— rpr333 - The time and money these idiots are costing everyone is crazy...and for what??? so they can ramble on about the Constitution, something they only care about if they think it can get them something free without working for it, while the hard working folks pay for these fools. The Founding Fathers would be embarrassed at the abuse these people are committing...so, they are the ones who should be leaving, they have no idea about what actually made this country great and don't even realize they are helping to ruin it...then again, maybe they do and that is what this is all about???— sarah89
- this doesn't seem like much of a compromise. the city is basically saying that you cannot occupy. the city has handled itself admirably up to this point. now it looks like they are attempting to stop the movement.— slanted and enchanted
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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