Police have arrested up to 70 protesters, including three wheelchair users who were handcuffed and loaded into a waiting van, during a march in New York's financial district to mark the one-year anniversary of the Occupy movement.

The numbers of arrests, reported by a lawyer from National Lawyers Guild, were not immediately confirmed by the New York police department.

Among those arrested was New York artist Molly Crabapple, who reported on Twitter that she had been "grabbed off the sidewalk, along with everyone else here."

Crabapple, whose illustrations have appeared in the Nation and the New York Times, continued to tweet from the police van, providing details of her arresting officer's number and badge.

A number of journalists were also arrested, according to the New York Post.

A crowd of between 300 and 400 protesters converged at around 7.30am on Monday at Zuccotti Park, where the grassroots movement began and where, for two months in 2011, it was occupied day and night by activists protesting against US financial institutions and America's political system. New York's Occupy Wall Street protest, which began after a call from Canadian anti-consumer magazine Adbusters, spawned hundreds of similar events in towns and cities across the US and world-wide.

The anti-capitalist protests, the targets of which included the bank bailouts and the uneven distribution of wealth, entered the national conversation for a few brief weeks. The occupations of public and private space were eventually thwarted by police and legal clampdowns which put an end to activists ability to gather in large numbers in public to exchange and discuss ideas.

Protesters had planned to surround the stock exchange with a "people's wall" on Monday, but a heavy police presence and the erection of metal barricades allowing only those with work ID to enter, kept the majority of protesters at bay.

They splintered into small groups, with each planning specific actions. At one point, 300 protesters marched up and down Broadway, south of Wall Street.

Police threatened to arrest people who stepped onto the road.

At least three protesters in wheelchairs were arrested outside Bank of America near Zuccotti Park at around 10am.

Attorney Gideon Orion Oliver told the Guardian that 70 protesters had been arrested, a number that came from his office's arrest and legal support hotline.

On Sunday, Paul Brown, NYPD's deputy commissioner for public information, said he expected the march to be peaceful, but said: "A relatively small group of self-described anarchists will attempt unlawful activity and try to instigate confrontations with police by others while attempting to escape arrest themselves."

"We accommodate peaceful protests and make arrests for unlawful activity," he said.

Many of the protesters were wearing costumes, party hats and carried musical instruments to celebrate the anniversary of the movement.

The celebrations began on Saturday, when at least a dozen protesters were arrested as a 300-strong crowd gathered in lower Manhattan. Anniversary marches and rallies are planned in more than 30 cities worldwide.

Organisers said they hoped that the renewed attention resulting from the first anniversary events may help rejuvenate the movement.

To date, officers in New York have made more than 1,800 arrests in connection to OWS action. Last October, 700 protesters were arrested after spilling into the roadway while marching across the Brooklyn bridge.