Zuccotti Park Re-Occupied

Two months after the NYPD eviction, the barricades are down and the Occupy Wall Street Protesters have streamed back into Zuccotti Park on lower Broadway with cheers and hugs.

The reoccupation came about through the intervention of the National Lawyers Guild and the Civil Liberties Union, which sent a joint letter to the city Department of Buildings challenged the legality of barricading the Manhattan public plaza.

Shortly after OWS was evicted in November, a website mounted by a National Lawyers Guild attorney directed people to complain to the DOB about the park closure.

Initially, the city, after an inspection, declared there was no violation, then took the barricades down a few hours later.

The advocates see the removal of the barriers as a sign that the city has recognized that barricading the park suppressed free speech.

OWS, celebrating its moral victory, has re-established its soup kitchen, library and array of signage.

The post from the Village Voice.