BNY Mellon eviction deadline passes, Occupy Pittsburgh campers remain

As the final minutes before the BNY Mellon eviction deadline expired, Occupy Pittsburgh campers… As the final minutes before the BNY Mellon eviction deadline expired, Occupy Pittsburgh campers prepared for new shelters and raked leaves at the muddy Mellon Green. But they weren’t leaving.

“We have seven minutes until we are not leaving!” someone shouted through a megaphone that echoed through the camp.

The Occupy movement that sparked a national furor against corporate greed is starting to dwindle. Recent oustings in New York City and Los Angeles seem to predict the end of the three-month protest. And Occupy Pittsburgh is not exempt. On Friday, BNY Mellon delivered an eviction notice to the group — about eight weeks after Occupy Pittsburgh settled into Mellon Green. But campers refused to leave by the Sunday deadline; instead, they declared seizure of Mellon Green, renaming it “People’s Park,” during a press conference that coincided with the eviction deadline.

The Action working group of Occupy Pittsburgh will counter the eviction with one of its own, serving BNY Mellon a notice at 8:30 a.m. today that declares BNY Mellon is now trespassing on “the land of the camp,” said Silas Russell, 27, of Mount Washington, who plans to sleep at the camp tonight.

Despite the eviction notice, the resilient campers said they do not plan to leave the site. About 100 campers, volunteers and supporters proceeded with the camp’s plans for winterization by sweeping leaves, moving mud-slathered wooden planks and tearing down tents. The cleared area would be replaced with yurts — makeshift shelters made with foam insulation.

But though the campers remain optimistic that the camp will stand, they believe the movement does not need the physical camp to express the goals of the Occupy movement.

“The park belongs to no one and belongs to everyone,” Jeff Cech, 28, of Greenfield, said.

There was no police presence at the camp on Sunday.

The deadline passes

The Occupy Pittsburgh movement — an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, whichbegan Sept. 17 — denounces corporate greed in America. The Pittsburgh branch had a march and rally Oct. 15, then set up camp at Mellon Green on Sixth Avenue and Grant Street. Occupy Pittsburgh has the only campsite on bank property in the country.

Since the nationwide movement’s inception, police have evicted and raided numerous camps around the country. Occupy Wall Street was dismantled on Nov. 15 after a strategic police raid that cleared Zuccotti Park in New York City and resulted in 200 arrests. Police cleared Occupy Philadelphia at Dilworth Plaza on Nov. 30, arresting 52 people.

Rumors of a possible eviction began circulating within the Pittsburgh camp last week.

Despite the collapse of the other camp sites, the Occupy Pittsburgh movement vows to persevere despite BNY Mellon’s pressure.

“We’re going to deal with the adversity as it comes,” Bram Reichbaum of the North Side said. “I haven’t heard people say, ‘We’re going skedaddle now.’ We would be doing the movement a disservice if we acquiesced.”

BNY Mellon issued an eviction notice Friday to Occupy Pittsburgh, saying that while the company respects the efforts of the organization, it is concerned with the onset of winter.

“These concerns are heightened by reported incidents of hypothermia and the use of propane heaters, gasoline-powered generators and other flammable devices in the confined spaces of tents,” the eviction notice said. “We are also concerned about hazardous conditions created by any accumulation of snow and ice on the property, which in previous years has led us to close BNY Mellon Green altogether in winter months.”

Cech said there haven’t been any problems in the camp, nor incidents that would raise health concerns.

BNY Mellon required that the campers remove all of their property by noon on Sunday. If the occupiers remain at Mellon Green, the action will be considered unlawful trespass. BNY Mellon will file an injunctive relief with the court on Monday, which means the judicial authority will handle the problem of the occupation’s existence.

According to Pennsylvania law, defiant trespass, defined as remaining in a place where “notice against trespass is given,” can be a misdemeanor or a summary offense.

BNY Mellon spokeswoman Lane Cigna declined to comment on the occupiers’ current presence on the bank’s property and what will happen if they do not leave.

After the noon deadline passed, many of the occupiers continued to go forth with the winterization process, which includes cleaning up the camp and building yurts.

Celest Taylor, 55, of Point Breeze, said there is still work to be done at the camp.

“We’re not going to give [BNY Mellon] any less excuses,” she said, referring to the occupiers’ efforts to compromise with BNY Mellon’s eviction notice.

The occupiers removed all gas-powered generators and propane heaters to comply with BNY Mellon’s concerns. Cech said the yurts, which will include medical tents that have volunteer nurses, will remedy health and safety concerns. Cech said campers will have to determine how long they can sustain themselves outside before seeking shelter in their homes for a day to prevent illness.

John McNulty, 47, played “Taps” as the campers raised a second American flag at the camp. McNulty, who laminated his protesting posters to bear the harsh weather, said he is considering setting up a residence at the camp.

“What they’re doing is awesome, peaceful and nonviolent,” he said.

The importance of the movement

BNY Mellon issued its eviction notice on the same date that the Pittsburgh City Council issued a proclamation alliance.

“Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does support and declare solidarity with Occupy Pittsburgh and the Occupy Wall Street movement, exercising First Amendment rights in a free, open, peaceful and productive manner, toward the better condition of our citizens and of these United States,” the proclamation on City Council’s website states.

Justin Ellsworth, 30, a member of the United Steelworkers, came to the camp to show support and a lend a hand with the cleaning in light of the eviction deadline. He believes BNY Mellon will file the injunctive relief to force the occupiers out. Ellsworth isn’t sure how much City Council’s declaration will affect how the eviction goes.

“It’s hard to say if the patience will last,” Ellsworth said, referring to BNY Mellon and the police.

Mel Packer, 66, of Point Breeze, said removing tents will not stop the movement.

“You cannot evict an idea,” he said, a phrase that has become an Occupy motto in light of evictions. As the evictions continue, the occupiers want people to know the camp does not necessarily need to exist for their complaints to be heard.

Neal Bisno, the president of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pa., said there is a “long history of people fighting for justice,” citing the Greensboro sit-ins and the Vietnam protesters.

“These movements didn’t go away,” Bisno said during a press conference. “We’ll be here today, we’ll be here tomorrow, we’ll be here here until we get the justice we deserve.”

John DeFazio, the director of the United Steelworkers in Allegheny County, said USW supports the movement.

Members of the movement said they don’t anticipate a violent or forceful removal of the occupiers in the next few days because they get a sense there is support from the community.

“This is a small town,” said Will Flynn, 25, of Point Breeze, who has slept at the camp a few times. “If [the police] show up with tear gas and riot gear, then it’s like, ‘Oh, these are our neighbors.’”

Taylor, who shares a tent with several other women, said it’s important to be passive.

“Now is not the time to be fearful,” she said about the possibility of police raiding the camp.