SQUATTERS FIGHT EVICTIONS
BY PARAMILITARY PIGS!!


By Chris Flash
"Expect a cast of thousands"--NYPD tipster to 13th Street squatters the day before the evictions.
Thirty-one people were arrested after a twelve hour street battle with riot cops and machine-gun toting SWAT teams try-ing to evict three squatted buildings on East 13th Street.

May 29, 3:05pm: It was like the Battle of Berlin, March 1945. Community defen-ders and squatters worked furiously around the clock in preparation for a promised mass eviction set for 4:00 the following morning. The sounds of chain-saws and generators filled the air as bikes and obstacles were welded to fire escapes. Windows and doors blocked, barricaded and welded shut. Building joists cut to size to block doors shut. Razor wire wrapped around scaffolding. Poles to push away police ladders. Booby traps throughout each building with large warning signs for the expected invaders. A dead car stood by parked at the curb for later use.

In the middle of ongoing evidenciary hearings brought by the squatters against the city, they suddenly had the Depart-ment of Buildings issue orders to vacate 541 and 545 East 13th Street and the ground floor of 539, based on non-existent "dangerous" conditions. After the orders were nullified in court, the city obtained an Appellate Division ruling that suppor-ted the squatters' case while giving the city the ability to vacate the buildings until a later decision could be made by the court.

"Expect a cast of thousands"--NYPD tipster to 13th Street squatters the day before the evictions.

The squatter community was tipped off to the coming raid by two sources: a ranking NYPD cop who knew the evictions would be illegal and a source connected to HPD (Department of Housing, Preservation and Development).
As the building defenses were fortified, some residents moved their most valued possessions to safe locations to later rejoin the work crews and put their bodies on the line when needed. An armada of moving vans and trucks loaded belongings as squatters and their neighbors hugged each other. Neighborhood kids hung out in front of the squatter bike shop at 539, using the free tools and parts to assemble and fix their bikes, seemingly unaware of the desperate activity around them. Banners draped from buildings read: "This is an Illegal and Unjust Eviction," "MOVE," and "Home Sweet Home."

Banners draped from buildings read:
"This is an Illegal and Unjust Eviction," "MOVE," and "Home Sweet Home."
By 4:30, many joined the fortification effort. Food Not Bombs set up a food line and quickly fed everyone. Plain-clothes cops passed by watching the activity, followed by a Fox-TV news truck shortly after. Inside, the homesteaders' legal committee was busily preparing motion papers to present in court the following morning. Later that evening, a violent thunderstorm with heavy rain came as movers continued getting stuff out. By midnight, it ended, allowing preparations to continue as cop cars kept passing by. Legal coordinator Peter Spagnuolo went on Paul DeRienzo's WBAI-FM radio show to tell New Yorkers what was about to happen on 13th Street. Completely broke, he was given a free ride back to the squats by a cabbie listening to the show.

As 1:00am approached, welding crews had to speed up their progress, but were unable to weld some apartment doors since the frames were either too thin or of an incompatible metal. Soon, the call came for all those who were staying inside to lock themselves in. The three buildings were then sealed and welded shut. It was decided that the squatters would try to hold off the evictions as long as possible, giving their attorneys Jackie Bukowski and Stanley Cohen time to get a court order the following morning to stop the evictions.

Outside, the dead car was turned up-side down and pushed into the street. Gasoline was poured all over it. Heavy barricades consisting of joists, garbage dumpsters, old stoves, appliances and bags full of garbage were erected at the corner of 13th Street + Avenue B and halfway up the block toward Avenue A. A few cop cars arrived at 1:40 and watched helplessly as the barricading continued under their noses. More pigs arrived and fled when they smelled the heavily gas-soaked barricades. Music blared from Bob Dylan and the Clash on squatter stereo speakers as the number of defenders in the street increased.

Cops were unable to respond to the street action in force since their back-ups wouldn't arrive until at least 4:00am. Captain Conroy confirmed this at 2:30 when he was overheard by the SHADOW telling Inspector Seta on his cell phone: "I have very little manpower." After Conroy and other ranking cops negotiated with Stanley Cohen, some people agreed to douse the car with water and sand.

By 3:20, the stand-off continued as the number of squatters and their supporters in the street grew. Police moles told the SHADOW that the head pigs were frightened, unprepared for such an angry and organized response. Reconnaissance crews reported that only 25 or so cops were mobilized on 14th Street, versus the 80-100 people on the streets and in the buildings. Several layers of barriers were set up along 13th Street.

At 4:00, recon crews reported that more than 200 pigs in riot gear had arrived on 14th St. Reconners reported two buses full of riot pigs were deployed along the 10th Street side of Tompkins Square Park half an hour later. Five head pigs with binoculars were then spotted on the roof of a high rise apartment building overlooking 13th St.

By 5:00, flares were lit as pigs set up police lines at 13th + A, 12th + B and 14th + B. A metal jam then began in the middle of the block. A pig barrier truck passing 13th + A was descended upon by a media mob and attacked by the angry crowd. News trucks from Fox and Channels 4 + 7 were on the scene.

At 5:30, the metal jam was going strong, with neighbors joining in. Riot pigs in formation marched toward squats from Ave. A, as some gained access to rooftops. Defenders reinforced their positions with added manpower, chanting "No Pasaran, No Police State," while maintaining their positions at the Ave. B barricades. Special riot cops in navy blue fatigues and combat boots appeared. Large gas cannisters and gas masks as well as plastic strips (used in place of hand cuffs) were attached to their belts. They advanced slightly toward one of the barri-cades near Ave. A. Rather than retreat, the very angry crowd advanced toward them, with sticks in hand, continuing the metal jam. The pigs quickly stopped and took to nearby rooftops instead.

A Mutt + Jeff team from the office of Deputy Commissioner for Public Info (DCPI) walked up to media people with press passes and told them that they wouldn't be able to guarantee their safety when the cops moved on the squats. They offered the "safety" of media pens set up far away from the action.

At this point, the pig strategy was to wait the squatters out, since most or all of the defenders had been awake all night, with some drinking beer as well. Those leaving the area to piss, get food and some rest were later unable to get past the police lines to return to 13th Street.

Another pig strategy was to give the impression that they didn't really want to evict the squats; that they too were waiting for the court decision the squatters hoped was coming in a few hours. A SHADOW reporter was told by cops that there would be no evictions and that they were only there to "keep the peace." Other cops spread this false information to people in the crowd. An undercover pig detective kept asking people if the squatters inside had any guns, explosives or weapons.

As of 6:00, cops maintained their distance as the jam went on. Three pig helicopters hovered above. Suddenly, a bagel war erupted between defenders of 545 and people in the street. Some dumpster-dived veggies and jelly beans were added to the fray. The pigs and media morons don't know how to react to this strange display. The numbers of squatters and supporters were at a peak of 150-200. Just after 7:00, riot pigs began bolder moves, setting up barriers at 13th + B. Various city officials from the Corporation Council, HPD, and NYPD arrived and observed the scene from 13th + B. Riot pigs slowly but surely fortified their ranks and moved in closer to the action. The defenders used a short lull to begin a street cleanup with brooms and garbage cans.

By 9:00, the pigs' strategies appeared to be working. The number of defenders had thinned out to the point where the riot pigs felt ready to move on the squats. Attorney Stanley Cohen told the SHADOW that just before the pigs did so, he overheard plans to use tear gas gren-ades to get squatters out of two of the buildings. He told the pigs in command that the squatters had welded themselves into their apartments and buildings and would be killed in such a gas attack. The surprised commanders repeatedly radioed their troops: "Don't use the gas!!"

Riot pigs led by Captains Fox + Spadaro moved on 13th + B, taking down barricades. Two EMS trucks removed dumpsters. Pigs came from Ave. A, dismantling barricades, arresting people and grabbing media persons at random, taking away some of their press passes. They chased people off fire escapes watching the action, taking over rooftops.

Riot pigs tried to arrest a man who rolled under a parked car to avoid them. They lifted the car up, gassed him, and roughly pushed him into a paddy wagon. Another man objecting to the pig violence got arrested too. The first man escaped from the wagon still cuffed behind his back, but he had nowhere to run. The pigs caught and beat him, carried his prone body into the wagon and locked the doors.

An armored tank was used to pull away the dead car, instead of using an EMS truck as before. 25-30 people lined up in front of 541-545 behind a thick rope. At 10:00, a pig was heard on his radio saying: "We're where we want to be. Stand by."

Only a few people on the line were arrested, while others were released after being gassed. Pigs cut open 545 and adjacent garden gates with SAWZ-ALLs. SWAT team pigs were seen on the roof of 539 with automatic weapons drawn.

At 10:27, pigs entered the garden, as white-helmeted bureaucrats posted Or-ders to Vacate on the front doors of 539 + 541. One cop read the Riot Act, saying the squatters are "in violation of a vacation order." Everyone cheered and said: "We want a vacation!!"

Minutes later, 541 + 545 were opened. Pigs entered, arrested a woman and pulled people off the fire escape. Other pigs gained access to squat roofs through rear fire escapes and windows.

Over the next few hours, sanitation trucks removed garbage from the street and covered oil slicks and paint with sand. Tow trucks hauled away vehicles parked near the squats.

Later that afternoon, HPD's private contractors erected scaffolding at 541 + 545 and boarded up windows. A new roll down gate was installed at 539. Upstairs residents were allowed to remain. Almost all those arrested earlier were released, except for a man named Cheese who went through the system for "Obstructing Government Justice" and resisting arrest when he was busted for miming nazi salutes and goose steps on the roof of 545.

Several squatters allowed inside to retrieve their belongings later that day discovered many things stolen by HPD contractors. Earlier, an HPD moving van also took a load of squatters' property to an unknown location. Nearby buildings had banners and signs hanging outside reading: "Justice for the 13th Street Squats" + "OINK," "PIG," "SWINE."

Stanley Cohen later told the SHADOW that the commanding cops believed that squatters would burn their buildings with themselves inside when the pigs raided. Stanley feels that the large number of press people, street opposition and NYPD Chief Bratton's presence on the scene is what kept the pig violence down. "Ranking cops could not afford the battle that would have erupted if they had not been there," he said.

In the end, the pigs underestimated the willingness of the community to defend the squats. They were surprised by the level of resistance, which demonstrated coordinated organized collective decisions, as opposed to the random scattered unsuccessful responses to pig actions of the past.

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