The D.C. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday called for the immediate eviction of the Occupy DC camp at McPherson Square, saying the ongoing protest presents a health and safety risk and is hurting local businesses.
Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Barbara Lang, writing on the chamber’s website, said Occupy DC has become a burden on the District’s economy and said that city residents – “all a part of the ’99 percent'” – shouldn’t be forced to pay the $1.6 million it cost to police the Occupy protesters who arrived in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza in October.
Lang called Occupy DC an “illegal protest” and referred to the Occupiers as “hundreds of uninvited guests” while maintaining that the chamber supports the group’s First Amendment rights. She said protesters should seek a permit to “rightfully occupy an area of the city” that would be properly maintained. District health officials found a rat infestation and unsanitary conditions at the McPherson camp in visits earlier this month.
Mayor Vincent Gray earlier called on federal authorities who oversee the park to move the Occupiers to the Freedom Plaza camp so McPherson can be cleaned and restored. The National Park Service said it will start enforcing a no-camping ban on the park, which means Occupiers won’t be allowed to sleep there anymore, though officials have no plans to immediately evict Occupy.
Some McPherson Square businesses are also ready for Occupiers to leave.
“Aesthetically, we want our park back,” said Ayanna Brown, the manager of Georgia Brown’s, which faces the square. “It’s one of the beauties of our area, and we’ve been deprived of it for some time.”
Occupy DC media organizer Sam Jewler called the chamber’s statement politically motivated and questioned whether businesses around the square are losing customers.
“I’m pretty sure there are businesses who are doing better around the park. A lot of the coffee shops, I’m sure, are doing better,” he said, referring to the Starbucks and Cosi at 15th and K streets, where Occupiers tend to hang out. “If they can show some records of businesses losing customers, then we can have a real conversation about it.”
Gray said at a press conference Wednesday that he still wants the Park Service to move protesters and their tents out of McPherson entirely to deal with a rat infestation there, although he hasn’t discussed taking legal action to force the Park Service to do so.
