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November 30, 2011 in City
Occupy demonstrators turn to boarded-up homes
A formerly boarded-up duplex in Seattle’s Central District has been taken over by Occupy Wall Street protesters.
(Full-size photo)
SEATTLE – Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in Seattle, Portland and Oakland have taken up a new tactic in their protests against wealth inequality: Squatting in vacant properties.
In Seattle, protesters have taken over a formerly boarded up duplex across the street from Garfield High School. They have painted the bare wood sidings with green, black and red paint, and they have strung up a banner that says “Occupy Everything – No Banks No Landlords.”
The red and black anarchist flag also decorates the front.
“Too many homeless. Too many unoccupied buildings. That doesn’t make sense,” is the official stance of the duplex occupiers, said Ariel, a demonstrator who declined to give her full name.
Squatting marks a move away from the public demonstrations that have marked protests in cities around the country. The move is an attempt to re-energize the protests in Oakland and Portland – two cities that have seen violent clashes with police.
“Who knows, maybe squatting will be the next pressure point,” said 42-year-old Arlo Stone, who has squatted in Portland and Seattle.
After its eviction, the Occupy Portland encampment scattered.
Organizers have called for members of the movement to occupy foreclosed properties on behalf of the former owners who lost the houses.
Occupy Portland organizer Andrea Townsend, 28, said providing a safe, warm place for former members of the Occupy Portland movement should be a focus for the city, and said squatting is a way to keep attention on the issue of homelessness.
“You’re building a self-sustaining community that’s toward what this movement’s about,” said Townsend, a self-described anarchist.
Occupiers in Oakland have also taken over at least one property and are showing other members how to do more squatting. From “Intro to Squatting” to “Property Law and Squatters’ Rights,” a recent “teach-in” in Oakland featured six hours of lessons for squatters. The lessons were given by the San Francisco homeless advocacy group called Homes, Not Jails.
In Seattle, the duplex occupants declined to allow the Associated Press inside, saying they want to remain “under the radar” – even after the official Occupy Seattle website posted about their actions.
There are between eight and 15 people staying at the house on any given day, Ariel said. She said volunteers are fixing electric wiring and installing insulation among other work.
Volunteers could be seen taking trash to a truck on a recent afternoon. A rainwater retainer sits in front of the duplex. The group took over the building more than 10 days ago.
The duplex these Occupy Seattle protesters have taken over was owned by a couple who held several properties in the region, including a multimillion-dollar waterfront home on Mercer Island that has also been foreclosed. One of them died in 2009. It wasn’t immediately clear if the owner had a listed phone number.
The building is located in Seattle’s Central District, a historically African-American and working class neighborhood that has seen gentrification over the years.
Still, Ariel said the main reason they chose this house was because it was vacant for several years.
Seattle police are aware of the people squatting, but haven’t received any phone calls about it, spokesman Mark Jamieson said.
Things weren’t as welcoming in Portland.
Police moved in and evicted more than a dozen occupiers in a foreclosed home in northeast Portland more than 10 days ago. Two people were arrested, while the rest left without incident, according to police.
Another three people were evicted from houses on Monday, but Sgt. Pete Simpson said it’s unknown whether the squatters were members of the Occupy Portland encampment that was evicted on Nov. 13.
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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D Statler on November 30 at 6:52 a.m.
Seems like these occupiers are getting smarter and smarter. The ones holding these empty properties are the banks they intended to protest to begin with. Now if they would find a way to occupy some government properties besides our local jails. They may eventually succeed in bringing reform.
As long as the rich and the poor pay nothing. Those of us in the middle are getting a whooping.It is high time to eliminate earned income credit before tax time. The last thing we need is to pay people back money when they already pay nothing in taxes. The millionaires tax sounds like a good tax to me also. I will continue to pay my families share. Time for everyone else to do the same please.
Notapatriot on November 30 at 8:24 a.m.
I’m guessing that the vast majority of these slackers are in the 50% of Americans that already pay ZERO taxes - while I pay my share and theirs as well.
America - land of the free and home of the whiners that all want a handout.
Teseract on November 30 at 9:26 p.m.
I hate it when people say “50% of people pay no taxes” without specifying what taxes these people aren’t paying — I suspect they mean income tax? I don’t know how anyone could get away with paying no taxes.
You can’t buy a candybar for 50 cents without paying sales tax on it. You can’t hold down a job (at least one that isn’t “under the table”) without paying at least social security tax. You can’t buy a gallon of gas without paying federal and state gas taxes. You can’t even collect unemployment without paying federal income tax on it!
So exactly how do these “50% of people pay zero taxes” do it? Do they steal everything while being unemployed? If 50% of people steal everything they need, how come 50% of people aren’t locked up in prison?
I’m solidly middle class with an income that’s 79% of the median household income for Washington State (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_income) and I’ve paid $7,740 in Federal Income Tax and FICA/Medicaid alone so far this year. Since I’m middle class does this mean I’m getting a nice full refund at the end of the year? Heck no! I’ll be lucky to see 10% of that back in my bank account after filing my tax return for 2011. So much for paying “no taxes”!
I supported a family of four on a single income $3000/yr less than I make now (prior to my divorce) including spending $4500 a year in medical insurance that was deductible and STILL paid over $1500 a year in federal income tax after my federal income tax return, (much less FICA), WHILE AT THE SAME TIME my stepkids qualified for reduced cost school lunches because we were “poor”!
So for all you people who love tossing around this “people pay no taxes gol-dang it!” rhetoric, please qualify your statements so you don’t look like an idiot to people who know there’s more to taxes in this world than how much you pay in federal income tax.
Pigrobin on November 30 at 9:46 p.m.
Hey, I got an idea…why not have the occupiers work with habitat for humanity to build homes. They got a lot of free time, why not be constructive, why not do something for society, why not do something for the country? This is a win, win and would show they really do stand for something.
misjustice on November 30 at 10:08 p.m.
Lol!
This is certainly a new twist on the “Occupy” protest!
Notapatriot on December 01 at 6:14 p.m.
…and how about if all the Occupy people get a free pony. Ponies make people smile. That would be so nice.
The_Seer on December 01 at 6:24 p.m.
The banks don’t pay taxes on any of the foreclosed properties. Talk about a free pony. I’m sure institutions like public education which rely on those property taxes are just laughing it up.
The_Seer on December 01 at 6:29 p.m.
undooly: I’m with ya! While we are at it, let’s get rid of the child tax credits and mortgage interest deductions. I’m tired of carrying people who decide to have children and buy homes. Why should I have to subsidize parents and parents? Why are our youth who are childless and propertyless forced to support those who do have kids and buy houses? That saddles them with responsibilities they didn’t take upon themselves.
And on and on.
C’mon, gmorton, get with me on this one. Oh, wait, you’ve benefited from those credits….