[http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-18/news/30417941_1_tents-protesters-police-raid]
San Francisco authorities declared the large Occupy SF encampment at Justin Herman Plaza on the Embarcadero a public health nuisance Thursday and posted final notices to remove nearly two dozen tents at a smaller outpost in front of the Federal Reserve Bank, prompting protesters to brace for a police raid.
But it was not clear when, or if, police would take such an action.
"We are posting the notices so we can cover all our legal bases," Mayor Ed Lee said.
Occupy SF representatives responded by cleaning up the camp and posting a notice on their website that warned: "Police Raid Expected Tonight!"
Protesters were preparing to defend the camp from the fate of fellow Occupiers in Oakland, New York and other cities around the country, where police swept in and arrested those who refused to leave on their own.
But as the evening wore on, fears of a raid turned to cautious optimism that a police action was no longer imminent or had been called off. A dance party to celebrate the two-month anniversary of Occupy SF was supposed to begin at 10 p.m., but speeches drowned out the music.
About 150 protesters had gathered at the main camp by about 10 p.m., with two dozen more outside the Federal Reserve on Market Street. Earlier in the evening, demonstrators were trained in nonviolent resistance tactics.
The nationwide protests, which began in September, hope to draw attention to the 1 percent of Americans who control a disproportionate share of the nation's wealth.
City health officials earlier Thursday declared the camp a public health nuisance after finding repeated instances of feces and urine at the encampment, tents that were too close together for people to move around safely, portable toilets that were not properly serviced, and conditions so cramped that people could get sick.
Inspection of site -
Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru and Public Health Director Barbara Garcia spent an hour walking through the encampment Thursday afternoon, trailed by journalists and protesters, who were documenting their comments with video cameras and cell phones.
"I'll give them a D-plus on the plus side," Garcia said. "It was an F yesterday. There are a lot of people here. This is an environment that is not set up for long-term habitation. In terms of health conditions, it's not what we want to see."
On Wednesday, the city produced a list of 11 demands that officials said needed to be met immediately. Among them: No more than 100 tents were allowed, with adequate spacing between them, and no structures could be attached to poles or trees. Other rules were imposed on food handling, alcohol consumption, garbage disposal and human waste.
By Thursday, the kitchen that a camp spokeswoman said provided 1,500 meals a day was gone. The bocce ball courts where tents had been erected were being used for their intended purpose.
But while the number of tents had shrunk Thursday, they exceeded the 100-tent maximum.
Attempt to clean up -
On their walk-through, Nuru and Garcia pointed out couches that needed to be removed and rigging for tents and trash that needed to be picked up. By the time their tour was over, two couches were being loaded up on a truck ready to be hauled away.
Jerry Seleness, a senior medic at the Occupy camp, chaperoned Garcia and Nuru's walk-through and said that organizers were trying to comply with the city's demands.
"We're kind of figuring this thing out as we go along," Seleness said. "We're working with the city."
Nuru, the city's lead point person on the Occupy SF encampments, said he saw "significant improvement," and Garcia added, "We'll be patient."
But Katt Hoban, a San Francisco social worker and Occupy SF spokeswoman, called the city's demands a "trap."
"The city's demands of us are unrealistic," she said.
And while the city called for all tents to be removed from the Federal Reserve Bank at 101 Market St, 11 still remained Thursday.
It was not clear how long the city would work with members of the encampment. As of Thursday, the city has spent $625,000 handling Occupy SF sites. Lee said he expected immediate compliance.
A.J. Pendleton, cares for "Radar", on Sproul Plaza, who belongs to one of the protesters who were arrested early this morning on Thursday November 17, 2011 in Berkeley, Ca., after the Occupy Cal encampment on the steps of Sproul Hall was cleared out by UC Police.
Credit: Michael Macor / The Chronicle
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