Occupy Wall Street Protesters Meet Champagne Sippers
While the protesters on Wall Street have shifted their attention to the New York police headquarters in light of alleged macing by officers last weekend, the focus remains on “corporate greed and corrupt politics,” according to the protesters’ “de-facto” website, OccupyWallSt.org.
Last week, a protester posted a video on YouTube of onlookers on a restaurant balcony sipping drinks and taking pictures as the group marched about five minutes away from Zuccotti Park, where many of the protests have taken place.
The well-dressed guests at the restaurant, Cipriani 55, were in sharp contrast to the protesters holding signs and chanting below. The restaurant is associated with Cipriani Club Residences’ luxury apartments at the same address, 55 Wall Street.
Cirpriani 55 did not immediately return a request for comment.
The protests on Wall Street, which began Sept. 17, have grown to include celebrities such as actress Susan Sarandon and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.
Hundreds of people first gathered at Bowling Green Park in Manhattan, home of the iconic bull statue in New York’s Financial District, to protest “against financial greed and corruption,” according to the group’s website.
Protests have expanded to other cities, including San Francisco and Boston. A group with a website called “ Occupy Boston” said it plans to start a protest at 6 p.m. EST tonight in downtown Boston in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The group’s website reads: “The time has come to deploy this emerging stratagem against the greatest corrupter of our democracy: Wall Street, the financial Gomorrah of America. Our comrades have already begun the occupation of Wall Street in New York.”
IN PHOTOS: Protesters Occupy Wall Street