I posted in another thread about being told I couldn't cycle on a street near the World Trade Center. I decided tonight to walk down and observe whether bikes were on the street, and to talk with the cops.

When I got to the corner, I was nearly mowed down by a group marching to join the Occupy Wall Street crowd. I moved off the sidewalk to avoid them, and got screamed at by cops to get back on the sidewalk.

I've lived in NYC for twenty years and have never been that frightened except on 9/11.

For those who haven't been following the story, they have been allowed to camp out in a public park for ten days. Ironically, they are not bothering "Wall Street" at all but are having a devastating effect on street vendors and the farmer's market (as well as those of us who listen to their drums all day). I've tried several times to talk to them, asking if they could leave a 10 or 20 foot buffer zone around the vendors and farmers -- their eyes glaze over.

We are starting to wonder if we have a government at all. I'm used to one-day protests and parades, and I don't complain about that because it comes with the neighborhood and the freedom to do that is a vital part of America. But ten days' camping in a public park is frightening, and I'm very worried about the precedent it sets.