Neena Satija Photo
Some 100 organizers gathered on the Green to plan.
As protesters prepare to start occupying New Haven’s upper Green this weekend, they’re hoping a veggie oil-powered box truck will create a supply network to keep similar demonstrations going in New York City and in cities throughout the East Coast.
The box truck idea came from Free Store founder Ben Aubin as he addressed 100 fellow organizers who gathered on the upper Green Saturday night to plan #OccupyNewHaven, an indefinite protest scheduled to start on the same spot next Saturday, Oct. 15.
New Haven joins over 100 cities in planning protests inspired by Occupy Wall Street, a growing national movement critical of corporate bailouts and with the influence of big business in politics and the country’s unequal distribution of wealth.
Organizers here — some of whom plan to sleep on the Green — are taking time to plan an “occupation” that steers clear of arrests or public disruptions. Rather, it is aimed at promoting an alternative economic model to the current financial system, and protesters are working along with cops and other city officials in the planning.
As homemade snickerdoodles passed through the crowd Saturday evening, details of the emerging protest emerged.
The group decided to start off with a march around the Green next Saturday at noon.
“We’re creating a snowball effect,” Aubin announced, noting how many new faces he saw that weren’t at the group’s first meeting last Tuesday. The Occupy New Haven Facebook group, created just over ten days ago, now has more than 1,300 fans.
He went on to explain his vision of a movement free of arrests or public disruption: “You don’t just go and occupy a park. You actually give things to people.”
He and other colleagues at the Free Store said they met with members of the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Boston protests and expect their supply-sharing box truck to be up-and-running “stat.” The goal: shuttle excess supplies back and forth from city to city, so everyone has what they need. The protesters in New York City’s Zuccotti Park (aka Liberty Park) has too many tents, for example, so those could be transported to New Haven for the occupiers here.
“We want to show that we can work together as a group and function,” said Meghan McGaffin (pictured) to the group. “We can’t stop people from going to work. We can’t stop people from going to the grocery store.”
With that, the group split up into several committees to deal with media relations, outreach, supplies for the occupiers, and even legal matters.
About ten people who were willing to “occupy” the Green day and night gathered near the United Church on the Green — whose pastor John Gage (pictured with Aubin) promised to help the movement by providing them with storage space and free bathrooms.
Their biggest fear: Getting arrested, even though Aubin said the city has signed off on the protest and location.
“Our next step is to reach out to some lawyers,” a member of the “legal” group told them, “and to print out a sheet explaining what people’s rights are.” The person said he is a second-year Yale law student; he and a classmate declined to identify themselves.
Brien Ben-Michaeil of New Haven was one of those willing to stay on the Green. He came to the meeting fresh from occupying a patch of grass protesters were calling Turning Point Park in Hartford Friday night.
He said about 250 people marched through downtown Hartford Friday. They’re allowed to sleep outside in the place they chose but can’t keep tents up during the day.
Once the various committees met on their own for about half an hour, everyone reconvened.
A “Rock-upation”
“We’ve decided how we’re going to canvas,” said Josh Heltke (pictured), a member of the outreach committee. The group discussed tabling at stores and churches, going door-to-door, and getting local bands involved in an effort they called “Rock-upy New Haven.”
The “comfort” committee announced that donations like food, clothing, and shelter-related items could be dropped off at Lulu’s Coffee Shop on Cottage Street throughout the week. “The flood [of donations] is really going to be on Saturday,” said Todd Sanders, a Southern Connecticut State University student who has been working with the “Shipping and Receiving” committee in the New York protests. He said he plans on occupying the Green as long as he can. As part of the comfort efforts, EMT San June said he could get 20 to 30 of his colleagues to be on hand for occupiers if they had any medical needs.
“Protest”?
Dealing with monetary donations will also be a challenge, Sanders (pictured) told the crowd. He didn’t offer any specific solutions, but suggested learning from the New York model. (Read more about that here.)
The media committee split into several subcommittees including graphic design, web design, and public relations. Tony Baldwin, a local translator and web designer, had already created a website for the movement here.
It was only when the group as a whole started to discuss “messaging” or mission statements that any disagreement ensued.
One person proposed that the message of the protests be “to protest corporate influence in our government through peaceful protest.”
That drew a tepid response. “You just used ‘protest’ at the beginning and the end of the sentence,” one participant noted. “It’s redundant.”
When Baldwin suggested simply “to protest corporate influence in our government,” someone else suggested leaving out the word “protest.”
“But it is a protest,” another insisted.
“I was under the impression we didn’t have any specific demands,” added yet another.
Whatever the final message of the movement may be, Aubin, Sanders and McGaffin left the meeting confident and energized.
“If there’s one goal that I have from this movement, it’s the goal of sustaining a community,” Sanders said.
As the meeting drew to a close, those remaining chanted “We are the 99 percent, and so are you!”
Previous Occupy Wall Street/ New Haven coverage:
• Anti-Bankers’ Dilemma: How To Process $$
• Labor, Occupiers March To Same Beat
• Protests’ Demand: A “World We Want To See”
• Protesters To Occupy Green Starting Oct. 15
• Wall Street Occupiers Page Verizon
• New Haven Exports “Free”-dom To Occupiers