PORTLAND (AP) — A Portland, Ore., city commissioner says the Occupy Portland camp is damaging two city parks. Commissioner Nick Fish oversees the Parks Bureau. He issued an open letter Monday to demonstrators who have been using the area for nearly two weeks, urging protesters to make changes to minimize the strain on the side-by-side parks.
City officials estimate damage to the parks so far at $19,000.
Late Monday, the Occupy Portland website responded to Fish’s letter, saying many protesters share his concerns and there are “informal plans” by the occupants to provide money and/or labor to rehabilitate the parks.
Mayor Sam Adams plans to leave Thursday on a 10-day trade mission. He’s declined to say when he might ask protesters to move. Protesters blame Wall Street and corporate interests for the economic pain they say all but the wealthiest Americans have endured since the financial meltdown.
