Protesters brace for NYPD standoff

Occupy Wall Street protesters, many them camped in a lower Manhattan park for nearly a month, braced for a standoff with the NYPD Friday morning over plans to empty the park of inhabitants so it can be cleaned.

Hoping to prevent a confrontation, more than 100 protesters tried unsuccessfully to take signed petitions to Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday night, asking that they be allowed to stay in Zuccotti Park.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said people will be allowed back in the park once it's clean, but said the city was now imposing certain conditions.

"They won't be able to bring back the gear, the equipment, the sleeping bags," Kelly said.

The landlord of the park, Brookfield Properties, had notified occupants, many of them having stayed at the park since Sept. 17, that they must temporarily vacate so the park can be deep-cleaned beginning at 7 Friday morning.

The protesters, who asserted that the cleanup announcement was a de facto eviction notice, posted an "emergency call to action" on the movement's website, urging supporters to gather at the park at midnight to "tell Bloomberg: Don't Foreclose the Occupation."

"We are concerned that this could be used as a pretext toward curtailing our movement," said Mark Bray, 29, of Jersey City, a protest spokesman. "Compared to the average New York City park, we've kept this place clean."

Friday night, protesters tried to demonstrate as much by launching a massive cleanup effort that had many even scrubbing the plaza's stone paths. "It's all part of the Earth we share," said Lauren Zygmont, 23, of Concord, N.H., as she scrubbed sidewalks around the park.

Mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna said the protesters "can stay 24/7 as long as they follow park rules." He said the city will continue to protect their free speech rights.

Friday night, a large group of protesters marched from Zuccotti Park to City Hall to deliver the petitions to Bloomberg. Told he was dining at the restaurant Cipriani Wall Street, they made their way there. Police officers stopped them across from the restaurant. It was not known if Bloomberg was inside.

Brookfield officials said in a statement that it is essential the park be cleaned.

"The park has not been cleaned in four weeks, a process that is normally undertaken every night," the statement said. "Our goal is to keep the park clean, safe and accessible to all."

Bermuda native Tarah Caside, 25, was tending the flower beds. "We're trying to show that this park is sacred to us," she said.

With Charles Eckert