Zuccotti Park protesters argue over real estate

Occupy Wall Street protesters are arguing over the lack of space at Zuccotti Park in the Financial District, a two-thirds of an acre park surrounded by marble walls and police officers. The protesters, who began sleeping in tents a few months ago as the weather took a turn for the worse, are now seeking out structures that allow for a higher density of people, like military-style tents with bunk beds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

It’s “sort of like what New York did with the skyscraper,” said Ed Mortimer, a volunteer medic working in the park. “It will create better walkways and emergency exits.”

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Hundreds of people are sleeping every night in the park in about 200 traditional tents in total, but the area originally zoned for sleeping by the protestors’ “Town Planning” committee, became inadequate as the number of protestors increased. There are established pathways throughout the park, but the tents are beginning to infringe on the paths, leading factions of protestors to stake out their spaces and cut deals with their neighbors, the Journal said. [WSJ]