Hundreds Demonstrate Against Church
By AL BAKER and COLIN MOYNIHAN
From his spot at the center of Duarte Square in Lower Manhattan, Matt Sky watched on Saturday as hundreds of protesters streamed into the public areas of the triangle-shaped space at the center of an ideological tug of war between onetime allies turned adversaries: Occupy Wall Street and Trinity Church.
By noon, protesters had streamed in from all directions under cold cloudy skies to reinforce the vibrancy of a movement swept last month from another space, Zuccotti Park, and signal a resolve against ecclesiastical officials resisting their wish to set up a new encampment alongside the venerable Episcopal church.
“Everything about this movement is momentum,” said Mr. Sky, 27, an Internet consultant from the East Village. “We need to show people that we are still relevant.”
Since the earliest moments after they were displaced on Nov. 15, many protesters drifted north to the park at Canal Street and Avenue of the Americas. Trinity embraced the wandering drifters and ministered to their needs. But when the Occupy movement expressed an interest in setting up an organizing camp in Trinity’s private space, beside the public park, the church said no.
So after some protracted debate, the Occupy Wall Street forces aimed their skills on the church. In familiar fashion, police officers converged on the area, standing around the perimeter .
At midday, a police spokeswoman declined to say how many officers were present for the demonstration. She could not immediately provide information on whether anyone was arrested.
But some protesters said a man who identified himself as Zak Soloman was taken into custody before noon by officers. Some clergy mingled with the protesters. The Rev. Stephen Chinlund, 77, an Episcopal priest who retired seven years ago, held a placard reading: “Trinity Hero of 9/11. Be a Hero Again.”
The mission of the church was to help those in need, the Rev. Chinlund said. “We have been on the side of the people who are right here,” he said.
By noon, protesters had streamed in from all directions under cold cloudy skies to reinforce the vibrancy of a movement swept last month from another space, Zuccotti Park, and signal a resolve against ecclesiastical officials resisting their wish to set up a new encampment alongside the venerable Episcopal church.
“Everything about this movement is momentum,” said Mr. Sky, 27, an Internet consultant from the East Village. “We need to show people that we are still relevant.”
Since the earliest moments after they were displaced on Nov. 15, many protesters drifted north to the park at Canal Street and Avenue of the Americas. Trinity embraced the wandering drifters and ministered to their needs. But when the Occupy movement expressed an interest in setting up an organizing camp in Trinity’s private space, beside the public park, the church said no.
So after some protracted debate, the Occupy Wall Street forces aimed their skills on the church. In familiar fashion, police officers converged on the area, standing around the perimeter .
At midday, a police spokeswoman declined to say how many officers were present for the demonstration. She could not immediately provide information on whether anyone was arrested.
But some protesters said a man who identified himself as Zak Soloman was taken into custody before noon by officers. Some clergy mingled with the protesters. The Rev. Stephen Chinlund, 77, an Episcopal priest who retired seven years ago, held a placard reading: “Trinity Hero of 9/11. Be a Hero Again.”
The mission of the church was to help those in need, the Rev. Chinlund said. “We have been on the side of the people who are right here,” he said.
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