Occupy Wall St activists break police barriers, take back park

The new year got off to a rumbunctious start in New York City, but for once the attention was not on Times Square. For even as the countdown  began at Times Square, high drama was in evidence elsewhere in the city as Occupy Wall Street protestors broke police barricades and took back Zuccotti Park, from where they had been forcibly evicted last month. Hundreds of slogan-chanting protestors, who had gathered at Liberty Square close to midnight, pulled down police barricades and made their way into the park that had become the epicentre of a movement to protest Wall Street excesses and social inequity – which inspired similar protests in cities around the world. ( Watch a livestream of the ongoing confrontation here.) [caption id=“attachment_133686” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A message from the Occupy Wall Street movement. Reuters”]  [/caption] “Whose year? Our year!” protestors chanted as they forced their way in. A tense situation was building up as police were said to be mobilising around the park, evidently to clear the area of protestors. At least one protestor was pepper-sprayed, according to eyewitnesses. “Getting super aggressive. People are pushing barricades. I am witnessing police push barricades back with force and violence,” noted blogger @newyorkist  “Many police now have their batons out. Police chasing after someone into park, forced to retreat.” “NYPD and some people are having tug of war over barricades,” reported @jopauca. “Police just dragged and arrested someone out of park.” Other eyewitnesses reported seeing mounted police on Broadway – and near the Zuccotti Park. “Still minimal police presence. More police coming, according to officers phone conversation,” said one eyewitness on Twitter. More live Tweets from @occupywallst