Occupy Pittsburgh - Facing Eviction

Aerianne · Oct 27, 2011

Occupy Pittsburgh Protest Targets PNC Bank

http://youtu.be/q8KZWjx4T8M

Occupy Pittsburgh withdraws from PNC branch
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
By Anya Sostek, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Downtown PNC Bank branch closed for about an hour this afternoon, locking its doors after several people affiliated with Occupy Pittsburgh entered the bank.

A minor commotion erupted on the sidewalk outside the bank near Fifth Avenue and Market Street, as police responded and dozens of protestors gathered to film the happenings inside the bank.

No charges were filed and nobody was arrested.

"They didn't do anything illegal," said Cmdr. George Trosky.

Bank tellers became afraid when several protestors entered the bank wearing masks and carrying cameras, said Cmdr. Trosky, and the tellers decided to lock the bank doors to prevent more people from entering.

But before the doors could be locked, five other people affiliated with Occupy Pittsburgh but not wearing masks entered the bank asking to open accounts. The entry doors were locked behind them, though Cmdr. Trosky said exit doors remained open.

Members of Occupy Pittsburgh dispute the assertion that anyone was wearing a mask.

Peshta Sarka, of Garfield, said he asked to open a savings account with a 7.9 percent interest rate, which he said would be a typical rate that the bank would charge a borrower.

He said he was told he could leave the bank, but he wanted to wait for his friends to also ask to open accounts.

Cmdr. Trosky said that the protesters did not have the identification required to open an account. A spokeswoman for PNC declined to comment.

Cmdr. Trosky said PNC did not call the police, but that two officers saw the commotion on the sidewalk and decided to get involved. Several police cars blocked a lane on Fifth Avenue and numerous officers were inside and outside the bank.

"We don't know why PNC treated us the way they did," said Liza Petrelli, of Monaca, one of the five protesters who stayed inside the bank. "We weren't trying to make a ruckus or make any sort of trouble at all."
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11299/1185244-100.stm

Vagabond623 · Oct 31, 2011

There were no masks involved, ever. Amusingly, the PNC branch office was cited for violating fire codes and some other ordanance for locking all the doors with customers still inside.

skip · Oct 31, 2011

Vagabond623 said:

There were no masks involved, ever. Amusingly, the PNC branch office was cited for violating fire codes and some other ordanance for locking all the doors with customers still inside.
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Good one! That could also lead to a civil suit if anyone got hurt inside for whatever reason.

Aerianne · Dec 10, 2011

Occupy Pittsburgh Facing Eviction

Nearly 100 supporters of Occupy Pittsburgh entered a Target store in East Liberty Saturday afternoon to protest the company's policy of of hiring part-time instead of full-time workers, staying about 10 minutes before dispersing. Police were on the scene but there were no arrests.

The "flash mob" materialized after a rally at the Kingsley Center on East Liberty Boulevard earlier in the day, where speakers inveighed against corporate influence on government.

The march and protests come as BNY Mellon says it plans to evict Occupy Pittsburgh protesters Sunday at noon from Mellon Green, a privately owned park at Sixth and Grant streets, where members of the group have been camping since Oct. 15.

Occupants were served with notices from the financial company that they must remove their tents, other structures and personal items, citing concerns about "all aspects of personal safety. 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."

After Sunday, "overnight camping and the presence of any structures, camping equipment and stored personal items will be prohibited and considered an unlawful trespass, which we will seek to remedy by filing for injunctive relief with the court on Monday," said the notice, which was distributed to occupiers on Friday night. Notices were also posted on stakes at the four corners of the property, but had disappeared by this morning.

Ron Gruendl, a spokesman for BNY Mellon, declined to comment, but one Occupy Pittsburgh organizer, Helen Gerhardt, 45, of Point Breeze, said that no generators or other flammable devices are on the site.

She said that some occupiers would practice civil disobedience if attempts were made to remove them, but noted that the group believes they are within their legal rights to stay there.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11344/1196095-100.stm#ixzz1gAuJRPAd

Aerianne · Feb 7, 2012

Eviction Signs Posted For Occupy Pittsburgh

Allegheny County deputy sheriffs this morning posted "No Trespassing" signs at Mellon Green.

Members of Occupy Pittsburgh said the signs went up just after 10:30 a.m. Nearly 20 protesters were at the park this morning, well after a Monday deadline for them to leave Bank of New York Mellon Corp.'s Downtown park.

No police were at the park as of 11 a.m. Since Oct. 15, Occupy Pittsburgh has used the park as a base to protest corporate greed.

Last week Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Christine Ward ordered protesters to leave the park. About a dozen tents remain, though Occupy Pittsburgh's attorney has said they don't belong to the group.

Sheriff Bill Mullen has declined to say when deputies would physically evict any protesters who refused to leave.
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_780414.html#ixzz1liPy8IZn

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