City Can Evict Occupy Wall Street Protesters from Park

Occupants of tents in Zuccotti Park, a privately owned public space, sued the City of New York immediately after a pre-dawn eviction by police about two months after occupancy began. At first, the court issued a temporary restraining order requiring the city to immediately permit the occupant protesters back into the park with their tents, tarps, and sleeping bags. But later the same day, the court ruled that the city didn't have to allow the occupants back into the park while their lawsuit was pending. Occupants claimed that they had a First Amendment right to remain in the park. But the court found that the park owner had the right and duty to maintain the park, and that the public generally had the right to use the park space safely. The city could enforce the law to promote public health and safety. Occupants didn't show that the park owner's new rules barring camping, erection of tents, and lying down on the ground or benches were unreasonable time, place, and manner restrictions permitted under the First Amendment.

Waller v. City of New York: Index No. 112957/11, 2011 NY Slip Op 21412 (Sup. Ct. NY; 11/15/11; Stallman, J)