NEW YORK -- Zuccotti Park, the epicenter of the global Occupy Wall Street movement, was desolate Wednesday compared with the days before the granite plaza was cleared earlty Tuesday, but city officials were bracing for tens of thousands of protesters who could clog subways and streets Thursday in support of the cause.
Scores of police will be on hand and transit officials were preparing to deal with a crush of people as part of the protest billed as a national day of action. The group announced it would rally near the New York Stock Exchange, then fan out across Manhattan and head to subways, before gathering downtown and marching over the Brooklyn bridge. "Resist austerity. Rebuild the economy. Reclaim our democracy," the group wrote in a news release.
"The protesters are calling for a massive event aimed at disrupting major parts of the city," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said. "We will be prepared for that."
It's not clear how many demonstrators would actually attend. Previous protests in New York have consisted of several hundred people.
Similar protests were planned around the county.
On Wednesday, police arrested a 29-year-old demonstrator on a charge of making a terrorist threat after he was caught on video threatening to attack Macy's with a Molotov cocktail. Police say Nkrumah Tinsley also threatened to burn down the city. He was in custody and there was no phone number listed for his last known address. He was arrested at Zuccotti Park.
-- Associated Press
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