Steven Thrasher

Outside Dilan's district office

​"We always pick rainy, cold nights for these actions," Sam Miller pointed very early this morning on Norwood Avenue, near the Brooklyn/Queens border far out on the J train.

Indeed, though it had felt like summer just the day before, you could see your breath as about twenty members of Picture the Homeless, Organizing for Occupation (O4O), and Occupy Wall Street were camped out on the sidewalk for the night.

The assembled had been gathered since 4:00 PM in the afternoon outside City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan's office, who is the chair of the council's Housing and Building's committee. They were demanding that Martin, who announced he's running for congress last week, bring Intro 48 up in his committee.

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​Bronx residents rallied last night to protest the death of Ramarley Graham, an unarmed 18-year-old that was shot and killed by a police officer Thursday in the bathroom of his own apartment. According to the New York Times, the officer that killed Graham has been "stripped of his gun and badge." NBC New York reports that the officer and his sergeant, also relieved of his gun, have been put on desk duty. In response to the shooting, community leaders are scheduled to meet with NYPD today. [NY1, NYT, NBC New York, WABC]

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via @StephChuang

​Chaos broke out in Oakland Saturday, after Occupy protesters tried to take over the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, in what they called "Move-in Day," a plan to turn a vacant building "social center, convergence center and headquarters." Hundreds of people were arrested, and three police officers were injured. (The New York Times and Reuters say the arrest count is around 200; The Associated Press via the New York Daily News says 300.) Police used tear gas and bean bag projectiles in the clash. Oakland wasn't the only stage for Occupy protests, though. In Washington D.C. protesters rallied outside the Alfalfa Club dinner, where President Barack Obama was in attendance. Williamsburg had it's own Occupy action last night as well. More on that later from Runnin' Scared's Leah Greenbaum. [NYT, Reuters, AP, ABC]

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Updated below: the singers have been released.

Organizing for Occupation co-sponsored the first Occupy Wall Street action in Brooklyn today, and it didn't disappoint in terms of adding some Brooklyn flair to the once Manhattan bound scene. About a hundred people rallied outside Brooklyn Supreme Court, while inside activists brought the foreclosure proceedings against three homes to a grinding halt by singing an original spiritual composed for the ocassion, "Mr. Auctioneer."

Eventually, court guards threatened everyone in the public gallery (including us and all members of the media) with arrest if we didn't vacate the the public courtroom's public proceedings. Approximately 15 people were arrested, including Common Law attorney Karen Gargamelli, who can be seen in above video continuing to sing as she is led away in plastic handcuffs.

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