The cops broke up the party within an hour and sent occupiers out onto Bedford Avenue, where there was chanting and talk of squatting elsewhere, occupying the police precinct, and finding a "chill bar" to hit next. According to a DCPI spokesperson, 4 arrests were made, with charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assaulting a police officer. Six officers were taken to Bellevue Hospital in the East Village and released earlier this morning.

The "Occuparty" drew a mix of cool kids looking for an experience and Occupy Wall Street castaways, who said they hoped this would be the first in a series of "rolling occupations" around the county to "build capacity" for a May 1 general strike.

The Indeypendent

Now, in the wake of OWS's three-month anniversary, organizers are moving forth in a effort to galvanize community support and to build a neighborhood assembly that will address the specific challenges facing East New York residents.

The initiative comes after organizers temporarily halted renovations at the 702 Vermont St. residence when police threatened to evict volunteers for working there without a permit during the first week of occupation. Many organizers say the police don't have a legal basis for entering the home, and to date, there's no eviction notice posted for the residence.

Nick Pinto

The afternoon's event, part of a collaborative National Day of Action effort taking place in over 20 cities, was accompanied by a real estate tour of five foreclosed buildings in the area, a block party, and even some intermittent rain that posed no real threat to the day's planned activities.

The neighborhood was one that most of the day's participants would rarely venture into, with its high crime rates, vacant buildings, and bodegas. Once an enclave for working class Italian, Jewish, and other European immigrants, East New York is now a predominately Black and Latino area affected by extremely high unemployment.