Who are the men and women seeking to occupy Union Square Park? So far we’ve met Karin Hofmann and Justin Stone-Diaz as well as Fathema Shadida and Tim “Chyno” Chin. Today, meet two more of your new neighbors.

Jared Malsin

Name: John Eustor
Age: 46
Originally from: Queens
Current residence: Was a full time occupier at Zuccotti Park, currently staying in New Jersey.
Current job: Unemployed computer programmer
Looking for work? “I’ve been looking for work, yeah, but I’m looking for work that is not in that corporate mindset. I worked in pharmaceuticals, banking. I worked on Wall Street for seven years. I worked for all these different kind of industries and they’re all the same.” Read more…

Who are the men and women seeking to occupy Union Square Park? Yesterday we met Fathema Shadida and Tim “Chyno” Chin. Today, meet two more of your new neighbors. 

Jared Malsin

Name: Karin Hofmann
Age: 69
Originally from: Germany. Emigrated to the Bronx at age 12.
Current residence: East 12th Street
Current job: Retired
Ideology: “Definitely a Liberal, and I say it proudly.” Read more…

Jared Malsin

Some 200 protesters gathered in Union Square yesterday evening to demand justice for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida in February.

City Council Member Letitia James, of Brooklyn, was among those who participated in the rally. Referring to the hooded sweatshirt worn by the 17-year-old the day he died, she told The Local, “Today, all of us are Trayvon Martin, and today this powerful article of clothing is going to be transformed into an instrument for change, and for justice for this young man.”

The hoodie has become a national symbol following the Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford, Fla., inspiring everything from hooded church services to a tribute song by “Hoodie Guthrie.” On March 21 activists including members of the Occupy movement staged a “Million Hoodie March” that stepped off from Union Square. Read more…

The Occupy Wall Street protesters that get the boot on a near-nightly basis from Union Square unveiled a new tactic early this morning: sleep-ins on the sidewalk. City Room reports that the Occupiers cited a ruling by a federal judge in 2000 that allowed people to stage sleep-ins on sidewalks as a form of organized protest. The group of more than two dozen laid out sleeping bags, blankets and cardboard in front of a Citibank and Bank of America in 40-degree weather.

Union Square has a knack for drawing the talented, the bored, and the show-offs to its broad open spaces. For that reason I gravitate to this part of the city on a daily basis in order to capture some of its magic and to add some of my own. Now Occupy Wall Street protesters have bitten off quite a chunk of the south side of Union Square, and in response, police officers hover around the perimeter of the park, poised to stop anything unruly or obstructive. Despite surveillance, artists, street performers and park-goers don’t seem to shy away from self expression. Rush hour is a great time to take photos not only because the park is flooded with characters, but also because it’s then that the sun is likely to create interesting highlights and shadows on faces.
Read more…

City Room reports that a total of six protesters were taken into custody during this morning’s clashes between police and Occupy Wall Street protesters in Union Square. Charges include resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. Meanwhile, a non-Occupy demonstration protesting what many say is a lack of justice in the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin is slated to occur in the park this evening.

Jared Malsin

Could Union Square be the next Zuccotti Park? Earlier this afternoon, a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters said that they had decided to attempt an indefinite occupation there, although few were confident that police would allow them to stay for long.

“We reached consensus today to try to make this a permanent occupation,” said Darah McJimsey, a 23-year-old activist who came to New York from California in November to join the Occupy movement full-time. “Although we’re aware of what we’re up against, and we’re going to draw on our skills as far as being mobile.”

The decision to launch an open-ended occupation of Union Square was made by 20 to 30 activists who came there after police forcibly dispersed around 500 people from Zuccotti Park on Saturday. The Union Square group, which has spent two nights there, appears to have attracted support from the broader movement. Occupy Wall Street’s website now features a call to “Occupy Union Square.” Read more…

Last week, The Guardian reported that Anthony Bologna, the senior police officer who was videotaped using pepper spray on the eyes of protesters, was previously named in a lawsuit alleging police brutality at the 2004 protests of the Republican national convention. The Local has now acquired court documents, some of which are posted below, that show it is just one of nine lawsuits in which the officer is named, all of them alleging the violation of demonstrators’ constitutional rights.

The lawsuits, dating as far back as 2003, accuse Inspector Bologna of personal involvement in numerous false arrests, use of excessive force against demonstrators, and violation of free speech rights. In each of the cases, he was named alongside a list of defendants including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, police commissioner Raymond Kelly, and other senior officials.

Seven of the lawsuits resulted from the arrests of protesters at the Republican National Convention in 2004. Two earlier suits followed arrests at the World Economic Forum in 2002. Four of the cases resulted in settlements in which the city agreed to pay as much as $30,000. The other five remain open. Read more…

A man’s foot was lodged between the 5 train and the subway platform at the Union Square station at 9:55 a.m. this morning. A spokesman for the fire department said the man was taken to Bellevue Hospital, but no further details were available. This is at least the second near-miss at the station in the last two days. Yesterday, a drunk man fell onto the tracks of the Q train and narrowly avoided being run over, according to the New York Post. Last week, Joe Pan Millar wrote about an apparent suicide that occurred a couple of stops over on the L line.

While the Department of Transportation, in a report posted by City Room, has declared the pedestrian plazas on the north side of Union Square Park to be a success, Gothamist points to a more recent change to the park: Spanish artist Miquel Barceló’s 26-foot-tall bronze sculpture of an elephant standing on its trunk is being installed today.

The suspect in the July slaying of a homeless man in Union Square is expected to be cleared of charges, DNA Info reports. The 29-year-old man, Keenan Bryce, was charged with brutally beating the homeless man to death with a bike lock and chain. But Mr. Bryce’s brother refused to accept that his mentally ill sibling was guilty, and through a good deal of research was able to prove that Mr. Bryce was in New Jersey during the time of the murder.

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

We begin today with a reflection on the weekend, which many people spent celebrating the passage of same-sex marriage act late Friday and the Gay Pride Parade Sunday. You can find complete coverage in The Times, including a piece about the reaction a bit west of our neighborhood. And later this morning, we’ll present images of the parade and other celebrations in a slideshow of images shared by the members of The Local’s Flickr group.

In other neighborhood news, you might have to find a new place to buy your steaks. Many people were saddened Saturday to hear that the popular Jeffrey’s Meat Market was no longer in business on the Lower East Side. The Wall Street Journal reported that the meat market is believed to be one of the oldest in the neighborhood’s history; the former owner, Jeffrey Ruhalter, 55, represents the fourth generation of his family to work at the shop.

There’s also a new crime alert: the authorities are looking for “gentlemanly mugger” who robbed a 73-year-old woman near Union Square last week. DNAinfo reports that this mugger politely opened the door to Apple Bank on Wednesday night, watched the victim withdraw $200 then snatched it from her hand. The police said the suspect was wearing a camouflage hat, white tank top and jeans and a yellow rope as a belt.

Finally, the Rent Guidelines Board returns to Cooper Union’s Great Hall today to determine if, or by how much, they will raise rent prices in the East Village and throughout the city. The Local has reported on the rally and final public hearing session last week, and one tenant advocacy group will hold one more rally today. The Local will have a reporter at the meeting. Check back throughout the day for updates.

NYPD Surveillance images of the suspect.

The police are searching for man nicknamed “Dante” who is suspected of choking and robbing two victims in Union Square and Chinatown in the last three weeks.

The first incident occurred on May 30 at the corner of Third Avenue and 16th Street. The suspect first chatted up his 27-year-old victim at around 4:30 a.m. before suddenly choking him and robbing his jewelry and money.

The second attack occurred on June 13 in the lobby of a building on the border of Chinatown and Little Italy. In that case, the suspect attacked his 30-year-old victim and robbed his wallet at 7:15 a.m. The police did not reveal the exact location of the crime.

The authorities noted that in both cases the suspect befriended his victims before making his move.

Investigators said that “Dante” is roughly 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. He has a tattoo of a star under his eye, another tattoo on his neck, and writing on his chest.