Philly Protesters Vote to Stay Despite Deadline

Also Voted to Implement Nonviolent Resistance Training in Preparation for Eviction

Protesters with Occupy Philadelphia have voted to stay next to City Hall despite the city's insistence that they move to another location to make way for a long-planned renovation project.

Participants at Friday night's gathering also voted to implement nonviolent resistance training in preparation for an eviction, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Scores of tents have sprung up at Dilworth Plaza next to City Hall since the protest began a month ago as part of a nationwide effort decrying economic inequality and what protesters call corporate greed.

City officials have asked the Philadelphia group to move to another municipal plaza across the street, citing a long-planned $50 million renovation of the City Hall area.

Managing Director Richard Negrin told the paper before the vote that he was disappointed that the protesters had framed the issue as an expansion and not as a move. He said officials will continue working with the group in hopes of avoiding confrontations, but he is concerned that members have been communicating less in recent weeks.

"We're trying to avoid showdowns," he said. "We think there is an element of Occupy that wants a showdown, and we don't want to give that to them."

Negrin said the city was willing to discuss a move to any other location suitable to both organizers and the city, but permits would not be issued for two sites.

"This has already cost us more than a half-million dollars," he said. "Multiple locations means more police and more of a disruption to the general public."

So far, the protests have been peaceful, with relatively few arrests. Last week, nine demonstrators were arrested at the headquarters of cable TV giant Comcast Corp. after they linked arms in a glass-walled lobby and refused police warnings to leave.

The group has announced plans to march again to the Comcast building on Saturday. Last month, 15 people were arrested for blocking a road outside police headquarters.

The project, mostly paid for by federal and state grants, is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. Officials say it would replace concrete surfaces with public green space, improve handicapped access, revamp the transit system concourses and put in a cafè that would remain lighted at night, a partially tree-covered lawn that could be used for concerts and a programmable fountain that could double as a skating rink and a pedestrian walkway.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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