Members of the movement are seeking to revive the energy and emotion generated when thousands took to the streets to protest income disparity, corporate greed and the influence of money on politics. Protesters say the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans benefit at the expense of the rest.
Corporate targets of today's disruption include the Broadway retail branches of Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., along with Deutsche Bank AG, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Liberty Street and American International Group Inc., according to planning materials. Events are scheduled in at least 15 other cities, including Asheville, North Carolina, and Hilo, Hawaii.
Andrew Landau, who works in marketing for a medical evaluation company in New York, called the crowds "a pain in the butt."
"I realize there's freedom of speech and everything else, but to upset everything on a daily basis and inconveniencing people with the economy being so bad, it affects people going to work," said Landau, 63. "There are other ways of taking care of this problem without upsetting the whole neighborhood."
Lost Business
Adam Said, 35, who runs a coffee and doughnut stand on Wall Street and Broadway, said the protests may cost him 10 percent of his daily business.
At a rally at Bowling Green, a group of singers performed a rendition of "Down by the Riverside" with kazoos, a snare drum and trumpet. Around 11:15 a.m., hundreds sat under a cloudless sky in Battery Park for a midday organizing meeting. As individuals described picketing bank branches, interrupting traffic and losing friends to arrest, the crowd responded with cheers, laughter and whistles. They tossed green balloons and red confetti.
The Occupy anniversary marks a test of the movement after its public presence diminished amid what organizers called flagging interest bordering on burnout.
Frozen Funds
The movement's New York City General Assembly, which made decisions for the group by consensus, ceased functioning in April because of infighting, ineffectiveness and low turnout, according to organizers and minutes of meetings. The group's funds were frozen to preserve money for bail, ending most cash distributions, they said.