East Villagers Occupy Wall Street: The Old Guard

Today, we’re once again turning our attention to East Villagers involved in Occupy Wall Street. First, Suzanne Rozdeba checks in with three longtime residents who’ve been spending time at Zuccotti Park. Later, we’ll hear from Sarah Shanfield, who, like Rachel Citron, only recently had her first brush with the movement.

Last week we caught up with a few familiar faces – John Penley, L.E.S. Jewels, and De La Vega – in the days before they migrated north for Saturday’s “Occupy Tompkins Square Park” picnic. Click on our audio slideshow to hear their stories from Zuccotti Park. As for the small turnout in Tompkins Square Park, Mr. Penley said he wasn’t disappointed. “It was a diversionary excursion,” he explained of the approximately 40 people that came and went. “I never expected it to be a big turnout. A lot of the old activists that moved out came. We were out there to have some fun.”

Mr. Penley said the police “went nuts” when they discovered someone super-glued the park locks and they couldn’t close the gates – right as a group came marching from Washington Square Park. “Whoever glued those park locks just made my day,” he said. Mr. Penley said he had filed an application for a “Rock Against Racism” concert in the park in December.