As the Occupy Boston protests expand, the city of Boston is analyzing the movement’s escalating costs for taxpayers, according to the Boston Police Department.
Since Oct. 1, the city has spent $146,000 in police overtime costs, said Eddy Chrispin, a police officer and spokesperson for BPD. Officers have worked about 3,000 overtime hours since the start of the month.
Last week the protesters expanded their growing city of tents at Dewey Square to an adjacent park at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy.
Although the Greenway is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation in 2008 giving the Conservancy the responsibility to maintain and manage the Greenway itself.
Therefore, the park requires permits for activities and vendors and can refuse to allow certain organizations or protests to take place at the parks.
“Occupy Boston expanded to an adjoining section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to accommodate the many hundreds of people who come daily to join the occupation,” according to a statement from Occupy Boston. “This peaceful expansion was undertaken to make a place for everyone in our movement,” the press release stated.
The expansion consisted of a half acre of the Greenway, with 15.5 acres still open, according to a press release from the Conservancy.
“Occupy Boston is a spontaneous event and an expression of free speech that did not go through the permitting process with the Conservancy or the City,” according to the Conservancy’s statement. “No one asked for permission. No one gave permission.”
The non-profit later recognized the protesters for cleaning up trash and being cooperative in allowing the twice-weekly farmers market to happen.
The Conservatory’s press release also said that the enforcement of public safety was left to the BPD, when they arrested 141 protesters that refused to leave the Greenway on Oct. 11.
Chrispin said the city has not yet assessed how much money will be needed to repair the damage inflicted on the Greenway. But, he added that Dewey Square will “definitely need some kind of repair” after the protesters leave the site and that the final costs will be assessed at a later time.
Occupy Boston is continuing to organize demonstrations in support of the 99 percent, and is making preparations for winter, according to their website.
The movement also recently launched a campaign to start a weekly newspaper, “The Occupy Boston Globe,” to inform the public about the Occupy movement.
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The Greenway Conservancy legislation requires that “the greenway shall be treated as a public park and a traditional open public forum without limiting free speech.” It is not true that they can “refuse to allow certain organizations or protests to take place at the parks.”