Gray wants Occupy protesters removed from McPherson Square
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 10:55PM Mayor Vincent C. Gray called on the National Park Service today to remove protesters from McPherson Square to “allow for elimination of the rat infestation, clean up, and restoration” of the downtown park.
In a letter to Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis, Gray suggests moving the McPherson protesters, who have camped in the park since October, to a separate encampment at Freedom Plaza.
Because both sites are on Park Service land, Gray does not have the authority to directly order an eviction. But today’s demand is Gray’s most dramatic pronoucement yet on the ongoing protests.
His letter was accompanied by a memorandum from the city’s health director reporting that both encampments are at risk for outbreaks of “communicable disease, hypothermia or food borne illness.”
Mohammed N. Akhter reported that the city “must now reassess and take steps to protect the health and safety of the demonstrators, as well as District residents and visitors.” The memo followed several dozen visits to the encampments.
The McPherson Square site, Akhter said, “has some serious concerns that should be addressed immediately.” The problems include an ongoing risk of hypothermia, fire threats from the use of candles and propane heaters, inadequate food sanitation and a rodent infestation that is “clearly visible even during daylight hours.”
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