Who are the men and women seeking to occupy Union Square Park? So far we’ve met Karin Hofmann and Justin Stone-Diaz; Fathema Shadida and Tim “Chyno” Chin; and John Eustor and Carlton Hall. Today, meet two more of your new neighbors.
Jared Malsin Name: Ed Mortimer
Age: 56
Originally from: Connecticut
Current residence: Full-time occupier. Couch surfing. Occasionally sleeping on street.
Current job: Volunteer street medic
Looking for work? No. Dedicated to work with Occupy: “I’ve never worked so hard in my whole life.”
Ideology: Anarchist
Claim to fame within the movement: “Ed the Medic”
Why occupy? “Because the people here are my family, and this is my home.”
Favorite music: Joan Jet, Beethoven
Favorite authors: Pre-Socratic philosphers
Other causes: Environmentalism, Green Party
Number of Occupy-related arrests: Two: Duarte Square on Dec. 17 while carrying out medic duties, and March 21 in Union Square for “protecting the peoples library.”
Opinion of Mayor Bloomberg: “He has sucked this city dry.”
Opinion of President Obama and the Democrats: “Obama’s a crook. The Democrats are crooks.”
Favorite revolutionary leader: Socrates
Favorite cop: None
Jared MalsinName: James Pistocco
Age: 31
Originally from: Johnston, R.I.
Current residence: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Job before joining Occupy: Public relations for Brooklyn Art Collective, bartender, waiter
Current job: Unemployed, participates in medical research studies
Looking for work? “I’m always looking for work.”
Ideology: “Pretty conservative”
Claim to fame within the movement: OWS Bike Coalition, OWS Kitchen
Why occupy? “I feel like the people here have something to represent, and I just want to be a part of it. And also with the kitchen, I just want to sustain people fighting a movement; they need to be fed, they need to be healthy.”
Favorite music: Lykke Li, Beirut, Dead Man’s Bones
Favorite authors: Zadie Smith, David Sedaris
Other causes: Liberty Café soup kitchen in East New York, skateboarding
Number of Occupy-related arrests: One. Arrested in March for chanting Occupy slogans in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in Brooklyn.
Opinion of Mayor Bloomberg: “I like [Brooklyn Borough President] Marty Markowitz. He’s a cool guy. He’s always around when events are happening. He seems more about the community than Bloomberg is.”
Opinion of President Obama and the Democrats: “Obama? As far as the first four years, he did okay. The deficit obviously has been raised. He’s got certain things and certain issues that he wants to get passed. If he gets reelected, then I’m sure he’s going to be able to do more.”
Favorite revolutionary leader: None
Favorite cop: Lieutenant MacNamara. “He’s always around during the night. He comes off as a hard case, but I always try to talk to the cops. They shouldn’t be our enemy. They shouldn’t be fighting against us.”
