Whats going on with Union Square.

Picture by Jefferson Siegel of the Villager


The villager had an article, about Reverend Billy and his new crusade to Save Union Square from developers.

from the article:
Performance preacher calls pavilion sacred space

By Jefferson Siegel

Last Wednesday, the anti-consumer activist Reverend Billy held the first of many promised “First Amend-a-thons” to protest what he branded the privatization of Union Square Park.

At recent Critical Mass rides, Reverend Billy, real name Bill Talen, joined cyclists before the rides to criticize plans to install a private, seasonal-concession restaurant in the pavilion at the north end of Union Square Park. Now that construction has begun and the north plaza has been fenced off, Billy and a group of followers descended on the plaza on Wednesday afternoon May 21 to recite the First Amendment and call for a halt to the construction."

There will be a rally June 5th.

Denizens of New York,

WHAT: Festive Assembly to Push Back the Privatizers and Save Union Square!
WHEN: June 5th at 5:00pm
WHERE: Northwest Corner of Union Square Park

Bloomberg and his cronies have a vision of New York City where parks
are for-profit, people are squeezed out of public spaces, and free
assembly is made nearly impossible. Their plans to privatize Union
Square Park were "approved" through a rigged process that steamrolled
widespread opposition, and then hastily implemented in order to foster
a sense of inevitability and despair. But the privatizers have
over-reached! They tried to sidestep the law, but a judge stepped in
and said "Wait a Second!" The plans are currently on hold, and the
future is uncertain. Now it is OUR time to blow the lid off this scam
and PUSH BACK THE PRIVATIZERS!

On June 5th, at 5:00pm, the Union Square Partnership (the schemers
behind the scam) will hold their annual back-slapping,
self-congratulation dinner, just a block or two off the park. We will
gather at the Northwest corner for a raucous rally and celebration of
Free People Freely Assembled in Public Space! Expect marching bands,
a "Heroes of Union Square Walking Tour," community visioning
sessions, and soapbox preaching. Expect surprises and spectacles and
a glimpse of what the city CAN be! Come out and meet your neighbors in
the square and defend the public's right to public space!

To find out more, and see what more you can do visit
Save Union Square