2011-11-19 "Occupy Oakland seizes vacant lot for encampment; Occupy activists seize vacant lot to set up tents" by Erin Allday and Rachel Gordon from "San Francisco Chronicle"
[http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-20/news/30424004_1_tents-encampment-demonstrators]
Rebellious Occupy Oakland demonstrators cut through a chain-link fence and tore down no-trespassing signs in a vacant Uptown neighborhood lot Saturday night, setting up a new encampment in bold defiance of Mayor Jean Quan.
"They obviously don't want us at the plaza downtown. We might as well make this space useful," said Chris Skantz, 23.
The dirt-covered lot at 19th Street and Telegraph Avenue, next to the refurbished Fox Theater, is five blocks north of Frank Ogawa Plaza, where Occupy Oakland demonstrators were ousted in a predawn police raid Monday.
The evicted demonstrators announced two days later that they planned to resettle in the Uptown area, an emerging neighborhood of trendy lofts, restaurants and bars, after business leaders urged city officials to shut down the camp at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall. Quan's office said Thursday that no new encampments would be tolerated.

Protesters get past officers -
Police set up a perimeter around the new site Saturday, but hundreds of demonstrators, who had just concluded a march through downtown and the Lake Merritt neighborhoods, got past officers with ease and without confrontation. During the march, they shouted criticism at banks, one of the objects of their larger protest against economic injustice.
 They cut through the fencing with wire cutters and tore it down completely before quickly setting up a dozen tents on the property, which is owned by the Oakland Redevelopment Agency. Several hours later, as rain fell, the number of tents had grown to about 30. Volunteers at a makeshift kitchen served drinking water and vegetarian curry over rice.

Festive mood -
The mood was festive. Protesters danced to music blaring from a sound truck. Police said late Saturday night that no one had been arrested.
It was unclear how Oakland officials would respond as the night wore on.
"They're certainly able to protest, but they will not be able to camp there," said Darolyn Davis, a spokeswoman for the Quan administration.
She did not say whether police would be ordered to dismantle the encampment. Occupy Oakland representatives also were elusive in announcing their plans. But one said the lot probably wouldn't be occupied more than a night or two.
Sherbeam Wright, a nearby resident, was not happy that the demonstrators showed up.
"I supported Occupy Oakland. At this point I don't know what they stand for anymore," she said.

S.F. moves in on tents -
Earlier in the day in San Francisco, city officials moved in on two Occupy SF encampments set up near the waterfront.
Public works crews arrived at the compound at Justin Herman Plaza a little after noon to remove dozens of tents set up illegally on a narrow patch of muddy grass along the Embarcadero. They allowed the larger encampment in the public plaza's interior to stay intact - for now.
Authorities also persuaded protesters to voluntarily take down more than 20 tents in front of the Federal Reserve Bank at 101 Market St. in the Financial District. But some larger tented structures serving as information and reception centers for the local Occupy movement stayed put after a small group of nonviolent resisters stood in front of them with linked arms, keeping city workers at bay.
"We don't want to use force," said San Francisco Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru, the city's point person on the Occupy SF encampments.
People at the Justin Herman compound were more cooperative as several participants quickly shook off their tarps, packed up their tents and moved to other locations within the encampment. But about three dozen public works employees wearing blue disposable jumpsuits, gloves and protective masks over their noses and mouths removed tents when people didn't move fast enough.
City officials said the belongings would be stored rather than thrown away if people wanted to retrieve them later. The crews carrying large garbage bags also picked up accumulated trash and wooden pallets that filled up four pickup trucks.
Police were present but remained in the background.

Conditions set forth -
The crackdown, which Occupy SF representatives were warned of in advance, came after the San Francisco Department of Public Health declared the encampment a public health nuisance on Thursday, paving the way for it to be cleared out. Public works officials also issued a set of 11 conditions that they said must be met if demonstrators had a chance of staying.
Among them: There can be no more than 100 small tents, spaced at least 2 feet apart, and they will not be permitted on the plaza's two bocce ball courts or grassy areas; pathways must be kept clear; health and fire inspectors, as well as animal-control officers, must have full access; and other health and safety standards must be met.
"There are still major areas of noncompliance," Nuru said Saturday as he stood on the edge of the encampment surveying the scene.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who has taken a cautious approach in dealing with the Occupy camps, said he hopes to avoid violent skirmishes between police and protesters, like those experienced in Oakland and other cities.
"I'm trying to think a little long term here of how everyone can get to a point where everyone has some degree of satisfaction out of what we do," he said.
The Occupy SF communications team issued a statement describing the conditions set by the city as unachievable.
"We believe that these demands are merely a strategic harassment aimed at silencing the voice of the movement," the statement said.

Occupy Oakland demonstrators tear down the chain-link fence around a vacant lot at Telegraph Avenue and 19th Street. Credit: Photos by Michael Macor / The Chronicle