Police maintain their presence nearby the encampment of participants in the Occupy Wall Street Protest at Zuccotti Park on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011 in New York. The protests, which has grown into a nationwide movement, started on Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
Jordan McCarthy, 22, from Sandwich, N.H., awake from under a makeshift shelter where she is camped out among participants in the Occupy Wall Street Protest at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 in New York. "We have allowed greed to be more important than humans," said McCarthy who joined the camp a week ago. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Owners of New York City's Zuccotti Park may be starting to get fed up with it being occupied.
Brookfield Office properties, the firm that owns the central location for the Occupy Wall Street protests, has released a statement claiming that they have not been able to properly maintain the park and that sanitation has become a growing concern.
"Because many of the protestors refuse to cooperate by adhering to the [park] rules, the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16th, and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels," said in a written statement by the property management firm.
Brookfield normally cleans and inspects the condition of the park every night which includes a power washing, landscaping, and trash removal. They haven't been able to do so since the protestors have sent up a tent city as part of the protests.
"Basic rules intended to keep the park safe, open, clean, and welcoming to all visitors are clearly posted," the statement from Brookfield reads. "These rules includes bans on the erection of tents or other structures, as well as the placement of tarps, sleeping bags, or other coverings on the property.
"Unfortunately, many of the individuals currently occupying the grounds are ignoring these basic yet necessary requirements, which interferes with the use of the park by others."
"#BrookfieldProps says they can't clean #LibertyPlaza. We'll share our brooms if they want 2 help," said one posting on the twitter feed @OccupyWallSt NYC.
Brookfield says that they recognize people's right to peacefully assemble but that they are also obligated to ensure that the park remains safe, clean and accessible to everyone.
"We continue to work with the City of New York to address these conditions and restore the park to its intended purpose," the statement continued.
In addition to the growing mess at the park, The NYPD has spent over $2 million in overtime to keep cops stationed at the protests, according to a public statement by Commissioner Ray Kelly made yesterday afternoon.
The NYPD did not immediately return requests for comment on Brookfield's statement.
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