Just hours after New York police cleared Zuccotti Park of all protesters, New York Supreme Court First Judicial District Judge Lucy Billings issued a temporary restraining order requiring the NYPD to allow occupiers back into the park.
The order, signed at 6:30 AM, prohibits the NYPD from “evicting protesters from Zuccotti Park, aka Liberty Plaza, exclusive of lawful arrests for criminal offenses” and “enforcing the ‘rules’ published after the occupation began or otherwise preventing protesters from re-entering the park with tents and other property previously utilized.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had already announced that protesters could return, but without their camping equipment. Unlike public parks owned by New York City, which all have strict 1 AM curfews, Zuccotti Park has no formal rules against sleeping overnight. According to reports, prior to the protests, the only posted rules in the park prohibited skateboarding, rollerblading, and bicycling. Only after Occupy Wall Street arrived, did Brookfield post additional rules including the prohibition of tarps, tents, and sleeping bags. The NYPD enforced the no-tent rule, but has allowed tarps and sleeping bags.
Judge Billings is a Democrat who worked at the ACLU National Headquarters for 25 years before moving to the bench. She graduated from Smith College in 1970 and University of California at Berkeley Boalt Law School in 1973. A hearing is scheduled for later this afternoon.
