3:45 am - Barricades have been set up around Zuccotti as a core group huddles in the rain, prepared to lock arms with the many thousands preparing to arrive and form several rings around the perimeter. They are prepared for the NYPD to move in and clear the area. They are waiting to peacefully defend their right to assemble. For the right to air their grievances against an economic system propped up by a corrupt leadership which, for too long, has ignored them with deafening silence.

This post – the LiveBlog and the comment thread – will stand as one of many testimonies to what is about to transpire. Let us mark this moment together and stand in solidarity with those in Zuccotti by witnessing it as a community.

The LiveBlog will scroll from the bottom, with the most recent

entries located at the end of this post.

There are now three LiveStreams from which you can choose below. Find one that works if the one you're on goes out:

-§-

3:54 am - Before turning off the cameras for a moment, the #ows media team just went through the new media center they've set up indoors just off the park. They are preparing to have many potential streamers spanning both inside the park and (hopefully) the perimeter as everyone awaits the anticipated showdown.

-§-

3:59 am - There are reports that there will be some union representation this morning, potentially streaming in around 5 am. Will update this if the cameras / officials confirm.

-§-

4:01 am - The LiveStream will be back soon. In the meantime, here is a letter signed by 13 New York council members asking Mayor Bloomberg to stand down:

OWS Letter to the Mayor

-§-

4:07 am - Once again, the LiveStream will be back soon. Media team members are charging and positioning cameras in preparation for this morning.

The Facebook Emergency Action Call put out by #ows last night, calling for people to come crowd the park before 6 am, has now reached 1,900, and it continues to scroll upward. I'm expecting many thousands in the park, despite the rain.

Currently, there are many huddled in the rain, under tarps, having a GA and discussing strategies.

-§-

4:15 am - Wow. The feed comes back live with rapper Immortal Technique, at the park, going freestyle for the cameras.

-§-

4:23 am - The feed is down again for a moment.

In the meantime, here is a photo from last night, care of the Daily Mail, showing protesters confronting Mayor Bloomberg as he enjoyed a swank dinner at Cipriani's:

Bloomberg, of course, exited out a back door to avoid the crowd.

-§-

4:33 am - The LiveStream right now is from earlier in the morning. This is not live.

Police recently tried to remove the Sukkah (Jewish structure set up for the holiday of Sukkot) that @OccupyJudaism set up. A large group intervened, and the cops apparently relented.

-§-

4:43 am - As traffic begins to pick up, several in the park are Tweeting that cars are honking in solidarity right now. Quite noisy.

-§-

4:47 am - The LiveStream is currently NOT live at the moment -- this is from earlier this evening. (The date is a typo.) The media team is charging cameras and computers, setting up their base, and preparing to send several streamers to the park.

The Live feed will be back soon.

Update: feed is now from Brooklyn Bridge march.

-§-

4:53 am - A list of prominent writers who support #ows and the protesters in Zuccotti has just been released. You can find it here.

-§-

5:00 am - Just saw this from Russell Simmons, who plans to arrive at the park shortly to join the protesters:

Dear @MikeBloomberg -- I will pay for clean-up of Zuccotti Park to avoid confrontation. I don't wanna go to jail but I will be there ready!

On a different note, according to WisePiper, Occupy Denver is facing imminent eviction. You can follow their LiveStream here.

-§-

5:08 am - Daniel Sieradski, of @OccupyJudaism, Tweets:

just waiting here for the hammer to drop.

-§-

5:11 am - Reports of bleary-eyed people beginning to stream into the park. Waiting for the LiveStream to come back online. They gave a quick peek, and they are still indoors, preparing.

-§-

5:16 am - Kristen Gwynne, a "young journalist" on scene right now, Tweets:

Calm before the storm at #ows

Many media, both mainstream and independent, are en route right now to the park, where the overriding emotion, understandably, seems to be anxiety.

-§-

5:23 - The police are reportedly incoming right now in Denver, with plans to evict the occupation there as Zuccotti Park, thousands of miles away, fills. Here's the LiveStream for Denver.

What is going on this morning? Why today?

-§-

5:25 am - Occupy Wall Street volunteers in Zuccotti Park are now circulating, waking up everyone from their slumber who is still (somehow) sleeping. They are clearing belongings and getting the camp ready in anticipation of the standoff.

-§-

5:28 am - In Denver, police in full riot gear are moving in as food deliveries stream into Zuccotti for the protesters.

LiveStream in NYC is still not yet back up. But here's a message from the camp in Zuccotti:

-§-

5:36 am - A few reports from those on the scene in Zuccotti that the crowd is already strong, and that many are already positioning themselves around the perimeter of the park as they try to get personal belongings out of Zuccotti.

I don't have numbers yet (and won't have confirmation until the LiveStream comes back), but at this moment 1,916 have committed to be in the park on Facebook.

-§-

5:44 am - Police presence, particularly supervisors, is beginning to increase, though not at the expected numbers yet.

And this Tweet: "Speakers revving up the crowd at #ows 'this is our moment in history. We cannot fail...stay calm, be confident, be peaceful...we are just.'"

-§-

5:48 am - Here's a photo of the park right now. The crowds are growing:

-§-

5:51 am - BREAKING: a new LiveStream feed location has been set up for NYC here.

I will try to embed.

-§-

5:58 am - The new LiveStream has been embedded and is live from Zuccotti. I will monitor the old stream at Global Revolution to see if it comes back as well.

The vibe is electric.

-§-

6:04 am - This is intense. It is packed as everyone chants, "All day, all week, Occupy Wall Street.

-§-

6:06 am - For those who can't hear at the moment, it is really loud:

Liberty Plaza is roaring! The chants are echoing, bouncing off the surrounding buildings. #OccupyWallStreet

-§-

6:09 am - Reports of union support confirmed. Union support has arrived!

-§-

6:16 am - Two items. First, the LiveStreams are temporarily down. Should be back soon. Second, there is an unconfirmed report that Brookfield, the owners of Zuccotti, has relented regarding park cleaning today. However, this is UNCONFIRMED.

There is a special, and very large, General Assembly going on right now.

-§-

6:20 am - A new live feed has been added to the top. Find a feed that works! It's packed.

-§-

6:31 am - CLEANING POSTPONED! Media and the LiveStream are reporting. Let's hope that this is the case. If so.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-§-

6:36 am - Protesters are now considering a march at sunrise on Wall Street. They are discussing this right now in a GA.

My worry: that the cleaning postponement, which has yet to be officially confirmed, is a bluff.

We will learn soon as everyone chants, "We are the 99 percent."

-§-

6:40 am - It's official!!!!!!! From the Mayor's office:



Late last night we received notice from Brookfield Properties that they're postponing their scheduled cleaning of Zuccotti Park. #OWS

Now, people are deciding whether to march on Wall Street. Mixed reactions.

-§-

6:53 am - Amazing. There are between 3,000-5,000 in the park chanting and screaming. This is a large victory for #ows. A battle, to be sure, and a battle that will likely return. But this is a very big moment in what is becoming a national/global movement.

Decisions still underway to decide whether a march to Wall Street with brooms - "Clean Up Wall Street" - will commence.

Union support this morning is strong!

-§-

6:59 am - @allisonkilkenny, reporter for The Nation, sums up the immensity of this moment:

This is the first protest I've ever covered where the activists won

-§-

7:10 am - It appears there is going to be a march on Wall Street, though how many will be participating is up in the air.

This could be chaotic, as NYPD is not prepared for this.

-§-

7:19 am - As crowds still celebrate and mill in Zuccotti Park, some have already started marching with brooms to Wall Street.

-§-

7:22 am - March officially underway with Global Revolution media team set to follow. Many are carrying brooms, and some are warning that the NYPD may view them as weapons. (I know, I know.)

Caution is being emphasized.

-§-

7:29 am - See joanneleon's comment for a picture of the front of the march. LiveStreams are following the march as well, which the NYPD is quickly mobilizing to try and contain. While most are on sidewalks, some are spilling into the streets in areas.

-§-

7:33 am - Organizers are also planning a march north to City Hall.

BREAKING: Organizers now planning to march north to City Hall with band and drums. Chants: "All Day! All Week! Occupy Wall Street!" #OWS

-§-

7:35 am - According to Justin Elliotof Salon, who is on scene and has some great photos:

Most of the huge crowd is holding the park. Smaller group of marchers to Wall St proper being met by police. @weareyourfek is there #ows

There are arrests taking place as we speak amongst the marchers.

-§-

7:48 am - Here is video of the NYPD dropping riot police: http://yfrog.com/...

-§-

7:52 am - Wall Street has been completely barricaded:

Arrests and chaos on the LiveStream right now at the march.

-§-

8:01 am - Here is an additional LiveStream from Liberty Plaza: http://t.co/...

Justin Elliot of Salon is hearing protesters in Zuccotti saying that riot police are coming, though he doesn't see any. NYCLU is reporting lots of police with zip ties heading toward Broad St.

-§-

8:10 am - Protesters are crowding the streets near Wall Street as police try to get everyone back. Total chaos.

-§-

8:13 am - I believe this chaos is on Water Street. A white shirt, attacking a protester on the sidewalk, had to be dragged out by other officers.

Things outside of Zuccotti are getting tense right now.

-§-

8:17 am - The Global Revolution stream, which is stable at the moment, is NOW live from Liberty Square with an update.

-§-

8:23 am - Parts of Zuccotti have been barricaded, though everyone there is fine at the moment. Many are streaming back into the park from a march on Wall Street, and the Global Revolution feed is bouncing from the march back to the park.

-§-

8:32 am - The Global Revolution LiveStream asked a cop, "Do you know why they canceled the cleaning?"

One responded, "We'll do it in 24 hours" before another demanded they shut off the camera.

Let's hope this is not the case. Though it's certainly possible NYPD will attempt to catch Zuccotti when it's less populated / less cameras.

-§-

8:42 am - Zuccotti Park remains packed. The main concern now is that Bloomberg and the NYPD are planning to take the park at another time when there are less people / less attention.

I'm not buying that the pretext for canceling the cleaning was due to Brookfield Properties backing down and contacting the Mayor's office, as claimed by Mayor Bloomberg's office.

It is not unreasonable to suspect that a surprise attempt to clear the park will take place when it seems strategically viable.

As Ben Smith at Politico notes:

Bloomberg's claim is that he reversed course based on a late-night email from the park's landlord, which seems out of character.

-§-

8:53 am - An emergency call was put out for brooms yesterday. Zuccotti Park this morning:

-§-

8:58 am - Tweet from Justin Elliot:

"I think Bloomberg realized a billionaire mayor throwing people off Wall St. wouldn't look good." --CWA rep on why city folded #ows

-§-

8:58 am - NYPD are lining up around the park. The LiveStream is going to see what is going on.

-§-

9:12 am - The situation in Zuccotti right now is calm. The main concern is that there will be another attempt by the NYPD to clear the park without warning, possibly tonight.

But for now, everyone is reveling in the power of a people gathered and united to stop an impending eviction.

This movement is growing stronger by the day.

-§-

9:25 am - Since this may have gotten lost upthread early in the morning, just want to make sure people see what Mayor Bloomberg's last vision of the protesters was before he decided to stand down and cancel today's eviction:

Here is a photo from last night, care of the Daily Mail, showing protesters confronting Mayor Bloomberg as he enjoyed a swank dinner at Cipriani's: Bloomberg, of course, exited out a back door to avoid the crowd.

-§-

9:42 am - Hi everyone. I've been LiveBlogging since 3:30, and need to take a short break. I'll be back in about 30 minutes. Please update in the comments if there's new information to report. Cheers.

-§-

10:24 am - Some interesting information on Brookfield, the owner of Zuccotti Park:

1) Apparently, it's a Canadian company, and has been getting pushback from a Canadian initiative (Thanks to pale cold for this.)

2) This according to commenter WhitRobinson, though I haven't been able to confirm:

The mayor’s girlfriend Diana Taylor is on the Board of Directors of Brookfield Properties.

-§-

10:32 am - This from janosnation in the comments:

Protests turned ugly near Wall Street, 25-35 arrested. At Liberty things are relatively tranquil, but there's a fair amount of tension in the air too. Cops have lined up alongside the western edge of the park, though they are letting people in and out with ease. On the eastern side of the park they have not been letting people back in for much of the morning. This seems to be related to keeping traffic moving on broadway, but the second set of erected barricades look ominous. Like Troubadour, I need a nap, and will be back in a few hours. The park has the media center up and running, legal observers abounding, and union support. The people are united and standing strong, if not a little exhausted. -Janos

9:56am



-§-

10:45 am - This is from a lead article in the New York Post:

Brookfield reversed its decision to clear the park because it was intimidated by elected officials who are siding with the protestors, an angry Mayor Bloomberg said today. "My understanding is Brookfield got lots of calls from many elected officials, threatening them and saying if you don't stop this we'll make your life more difficult," the mayor said on his weekly radio show.

If this is truly what occurred, then a hearty thanks goes out to the 13 officials who stood up to Bloomberg last night. (HT toKnotIookin.)

-§-

11:05 am - Activists in Zuccotti are finally getting a chance to sleep after a long night and morning.

Oh, and that sleep is coming because the wicked drum circles have ended. The gentleman on the left was apparently the angry drum leader:

Pic from Justin Elliot.

-§-

11:19 am - An intense stream in Charlie's diary right now as police stand off with Occupy San Diego. Things look imminent.

-§-

11:39 am - A horrible photo from theAP via the NY Post:

NYPD officers runs over a National Lawyers Guild observer as Occupy Wall Street demonstrators march through the streets near Wall Street in New York.

Hat tip to Clarknt67 for passing this one along.

-§-

11:55 am - This intense video from San Diego must be watched. And please GO REC. Charlie's diary on the Rec. List, where it can be found:



Free live streaming by Ustream

-§-

11:58 am - Video of a white shirt (NYPD captain) punching a protester from the Gothamist (care of commenter marigold):

-§-



12:25 pm - I am signing off for now. Thank you to everyone who contributed in the comments (not all of which I've been able to review) and for bearing witness, once again, to another important day in the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Let us hope that, as night falls this evening and the rains return, the NYPD (at the behest of Bloomberg) does not decide to do what it could not do today: clear Zuccotti and evict one of the nation's protest epicenter.

We are the 99 percent.

-§-

----------------------------------

Follow me on Twitter @David_EHG

----------------------------------