Occupy and local pols: An uncertain alliance

To the undiscerning eye, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition’s annual meeting at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church on Saturday afternoon was just like previous gatherings hosted by the non-profit organization: elected officials and community members came together to talk about living wage legislation and problems confronting the public school system.

But days before the event, NWBCCC announced that Occupy the Bronx — a borough chapter in the larger Occupy Wall Street movement that has been rallying for greater economic equality for more than a month now — had joined the meeting.
As what is better described as a rally ended, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said he was not aware Occupy the Bronx was present and Councilman Oliver Koppell said he did not know what Occupy the Bronx was. Though organizers chanted many of the same slogans as at gatherings near Wall Street, nobody used the Occupy the Bronx title when addressing the crowd.

An NWBCCC spokesperson said the marriage was organic since many of its members also participate in Occupy the Bronx, which began on Facebook and has hosted rallies in the borough on the last three Saturdays. And so NWBCCC, known or its ability to energize residents on local issues, had slyly united protesters and politicians.

Pundits, bloggers and even a recent group of Riverdalians who are members of Northwest Bronx for Change have wondered aloud whether the Occupy movement will lead to legislation. At least here in the Bronx, the six-week old protest, which is spreading across the country and the world, is not sitting and waiting. It’s attaching itself to the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, co-sponsored by Mr. Koppell and Councilwoman Anabella Palma, which would require developers receiving taxpayer subsidies of more than $1 million to pay a living wage — defined as $10 per hour with benefits or $11.50 without.

Those that have compared Occupy Wall Street to the more right-wing Tea Party movement that began in 2009 have mulled whether Democrats would attach to (or co-opt depending on their perspectives) the Occupy movement the way Republicans have the Tea Party.