Entire OWS Library Taken By Dept. Of Sanitation, But not Destroyed!

[Leopolds Ghost]

This has probably been posted before, but...



http://gothamist.com/2011/11/15/occupy_wall_street_library.php

As we originally reported at 4:15 a.m., the NYPD and Department of Sanitation tossed the entire contents of the Occupy Wall Street library into some dumpsters. At that time, the library's Twitter account transmitted this message: "The NYPD has destroyed everything at #OccupyWallStreet and put it all in dumpsters, including the #OWSLibrary. It's time to #ShutDownNYC." The library had more than 5,000 books, and recently Patti Smith funded a more permanent structure (pictured) to house it in.

Even though the city has been telling protesters that things would be stored in a Department of Sanitation facility at 650 West 57th Street in Manhattan, and could be picked up after noon, many believed and reported that the books had been destroyed. When we called the DoS this afternoon it wasn't looking good, the woman who answered the phone simply told us, "my boss isn't sure where the books are." And earlier today the library's blog had updated saying tonight at 6 p.m., "writers and readers from across New York City will gather in Liberty Plaza to reoccupy the space and rebuild the People’s Library."

But alas, good news has just arrived via the Mayor's Twitter account: the books are "safely stored" at the West 57th Street garage, and can be picked up tomorrow. They even provided photographic evidence. But how about the book shelter that Smith provided?

And yes, the comments from Gothamist subscribers, like DCist et al., are awful pseudo-hipster snark, as usual.
At least these "alternative" urban blogs cover the actual news.

Brookfield Letter to the Mayor Re Zuccotti Park

Here's one of the only decent replies I could find on Gothamist / DCist about Occupy:

Although I am by no means an OWS supporter, the country's passive acceptance of "free speech zones", TSA gropings, warrantless searches, property seizures without trials, torturing prisoners, holding people without trials, and now assassination lists, no knock warrants, and swat teams home invasions shows we are far beyond the pale, and it either will be corrected, or the people will give up their freedoms to a dictatorship - probably selling out to money, which is paper and fake to begin with.

[Leopolds Ghost]

1. Why downrec this?

The article seems balanced enough.

[Leopolds Ghost]

2. Any word on what happened to the books BTW?

Sorry if this thread has been posted already.