The following is a statement by John Ford, a member and resident of Occupy Boston:

This morning we attempted to bring in another military tent, a 16’x16’, which would be used for sleeping. We were stopped in our attempt and told a permit would be needed.

When we have asked how to go about permitting a tent, we have been told not to bother, as no tents we seek to permit will be approved, on principle that no permit was ever issued to be here, in Dewey Square, in the first place; or ever would be. This was stated on the stand in Suffolk Superior Court, by Mister Bart Shea, the City Fire Marshall. This ties our hands while demanding we scratch our own backs, or leave.

That’s fine for the paper, but what’s happening on the ground is that the various city agencies, covering their own liability, are telling us to come into code, while still other city offices, apparently, are using the police to enforce the prohibition of new materials; effectively halting our ability to come up to code without obfuscation.

The police will argue with us all day, they have an order barring in new materials, simple; it is the other, higher offices, which refuse to negotiate. We, at Occupy Boston, once again, would like to extend an invitation, to the Mayor of The City of Boston, Mr. Thomas Menino, to the Fire Marshal, noted above, and any other city regulators or officials willing to engage in this debate; to come and have an open dialogue, with the people, on the issue of how we can come to terms, on issues of safety, sanitation, and higher philosophy,  to relate, and mediate our mutual interests, so that we can all move forward.

As for this morning, a general assembly was called at 11:30 to discuss the action. It had been discussed previously, in the wake of the sink incident, that a more cooperative and coherent demonstration was needed to best portray our particular situation to the public. We called on the various city agencies acting in apparent collusion to prevent us from coming into accord with their wishes, as well as the media, and you, to hear our polite requests for answers, as well as to raise further public awareness on this issue.

We were offered no answers, only that we needed a permit; a permit which we have been informed would never be granted. The tent was removed peaceably, only after we felt our message was heard; that we would like to become safer, more comfortable, more efficiently arranged, organized and accessible, so that more people may come, and be involved in this open discussion.

-John Ford

Protest chaplains and clergy hand-delivered a letter Thursday morning to City Hall and Boston Police Headquarters. Signed by 161 faith leaders from Boston and surrounding communities, the letter expressed support for Occupy Boston’s efforts to draw attention to widening disparities of wealth. It urged the mayor, the City Council, and the police to refrain from violence in dealings with Occupy protestors.

The letter expressed dismay at the “dangerous, punitive, and unnecessary use of force against encampments nationwide.” It called for a public commitment from the City not to use “batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, ‘flashbangs,’ ‘sound cannons,’ or any other bullets, projectiles, explosives, chemical agents, or other pain-based method of crowd control” in the event that the City acts to remove protestors from Dewey Square.

Praising the camp’s reception of “the least and lost among us,” the letter noted that safety and sanitation challenges at the camp reflect “our own failure to address the triple threat of addiction, mental illness, and homelessness wracking our city.” It urged officials to commit to creating “additional shelters to aid the homeless in Dewey Square, and increasing numbers made homeless by eviction and foreclosure,” prior to any eviction of protestors.

“The poverty, homelessness, and increasing desperation of our neighbors present a challenge to us all,” the letter concluded. “Violence against the protesters is no solution. As leaders of faith, we urge you to seek a course that furthers justice and wholeness for all people. In this, we stand as one.”

Last night—Thursday, December 1—in accordance with a request by the Board of Health and the Fire Marshal, Occupy Boston attempted to install a new greywater sink for our food tent. The City said in court yesterday that we need to increase safety and sanitation here at our encampment.

We have allocated large amounts of funds for the fireproofing, winterization, and sanitation of our community. However, even as the city tells us that we are a public safety hazard, they have been actively thwarting our efforts. We are being blocked from replacing our tents with flame-retardant, winterized tents; from adding stability to our fraying walkways; and from protecting the health and safety of our community. Meanwhile, the City, the Fire Marshal, and the Board of Health testify that we must address these issues. We’re still figuring out how to make sense of this.

Blockaded “contraband”—their word, not ours—includes construction materials, pallets, winterized tents, and apparently, sinks.

When our shiny, new, stainless steel friend—built for us by one of our rockstar occupiers—was brought to Dewey Square last night, the Boston Police Department immediately surrounded it, indicating how threatening this shiny, sanitary device is. Since the restraining order from Judge McIntyre prevents the Boston Police from dismantling our camp except in the case of a fire, violence, or other emergency, we are puzzled by this police action. Considering that the sink was neither on fire nor beating anybody up, we can only assume that it intended to do something sinister. Seeing as how our irate residents really want to wash their dishes, we sat down in front of the truck containing the detained sink. It took about 40 minutes for the sink to be hauled off to jail, and three others were arrested in the process. The occupiers stayed strong and nonviolent throughout the ordeal. See the full 40-minute video here:

So, as the police truck sped off into the sunset, with our sink hanging out of the back (it put up too much of a fight for the door to close), and three of our friends hauled off to jail along with it, we calmly and nonviolently resumed our occupation without the promise of clean dishes for the 99%. Our jail support team is currently expecting the sink’s phone call, and will notify = the police station to let them know if it has any medical conditions that they should be aware of.

Free our Sink!

Occupy Boston witness, K. Eric Martin, answering media questions after the hearing

This afternoon at Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre ruling kept in place a temporary restraining order protecting the Occupy Boston Camp at Dewey Square. The order prevents the camp’s eviction by the City of Boston until a written decision is issued, on or before December 15. We are confirmed in our freedom of speech, our right to petition, and our freedom of assembly – at least for the time being.

During the proceedings, the City’s arguments hinged on concerns with our encampment’s safety and with the limits of the First Amendment. The Boston Fire Marshal, despite his dire assessment of fire hazards, was unable to show good-faith efforts to work with protesters to improve the camp — or that he even provided Occupy Boston the notice required by law of what he called substantial fire risks. Occupy Boston’s witness, K. Eric Martin, articulated the importance of the camp’s present location, in the shadow of the Federal Reserve Building, to the protest’s message. He also described the Boston Police Department’s ongoing efforts to prevent winterized tents and other necessary resources from entering camp.

Today is the second victory for a legal team headed by Attorney Howard Cooper formed by the National Lawyers Guild, Massachusetts Chapter and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. Last month they filed the motion for a temporary restraining order that effectively headed off the possibility that Occupy Boston demonstrators would be forcibly removed, as in other cities.

The Occupy Boston General Assembly yesterday ratified a “Statement of Health and Safety” stating that we “will be proactive and self-regulate to meet all reasonable safety and health inspection standards of the city.” As Urszula Masny-Latos, Executive Director of the NLG, Massachusetts Chapter, stated after today’s court decision, “If the main issue that the City of Boston has regarding Occupy Boston is ‘safety,’ then the City should work with Occupy and create an acceptable and workable plan for addressing all health and safety-related issues, rather than seeking the ultimate closure of the Dewey Square encampment.” We are ready to meet the challenges facing our community and continue our protest of economic inequality here in Dewey Square.