The injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules, which were published after the Occupy Wall Street protest began.

Those rules would bar protestors from bringing tents, tarps and sleeping bags into the park.

At a morning news conference at City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city knew about the court order but had not seen it and would go to court to fight it. He said the city wants to protect people's rights, but if a choice must be made, it will protect public safety.

A hearing is scheduled for 11 am.

Zuccotti Park was cleared overnightso that crews could clean it. Bloomberg said that was done "to reduce the risk of confrontation."

He said the city had planned to allow the protesters back in the park after it was cleaned. Under the city's plans, protesters would not be allowed to use tents, sleeping bags, or tarps and would have to follow all park rules.

Protestors had been heading back to Zuccotti Park, but after the court order was issued, the city closed it again while it assesses the court order.

Hundreds of police officers in riot gear raided Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, evicting dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters from what has become the epicenter of the worldwide movement protesting corporate greed and economic inequality.

Hours later, the National Lawyers Guild obtained a court order allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters to return with tents to the park. The guild said the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on Occupy Wall Street protesters.

About 70 people were arrested overnight, including some who chained themselves together, while officers cleared the park so that sanitation crews could clean it.

By 9 a.m., the park was power-washed clean. Police in riot gear still ringed the public space, waiting for orders to reopen it.

The city told protesters at the two-month-old encampment they could come back after the cleaning, but under new tougher rules, including no tents, sleeping bags or tarps, which would effectively put an end to the encampment if enforced.

Bloomberg said the evacuation was conducted in the middle of the night "to reduce the risk of confrontation in the park, and to minimize disruption to the surrounding neighborhood."

"The law that created Zuccotti Park required that it be open for the public to enjoy for passive recreation 24 hours a day," Bloomberg said. "Ever since the occupation began, that law has not been complied with, as the park has been taken over by protesters, making it unavailable to anyone else."