Occupy Wall Street's May Day protests begin in New York with focus on banking giants

Dozens of Occupy Wall Street activists spread out to protest at banks and other New York City businesses today to mark International Workers Day, or May Day. Protesters gathered at Bryant Park in Manhattan and prepared to march to financial institutions including Chase, Citibank and Bank of America. Police in riot gear lined the front of Bank of America on West 42nd Street, facing several dozen Occupy activists marching behind police barricades. "Bank of America, bad for America!" they chanted. Julian Kliner, 22, said their main issue with the banking giant is "how many people the Bank of America foreclosed as a result of predatory lending." He said the bank also financed projects that were environmentally questionable. Another group picketed outside New York University to protest the university's expansion plans in Greenwich Village. Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, where the Occupy movement began last fall, was empty Tuesday morning except for a few police officers. Nearby Wall Street was heavily barricaded as office workers stream by on their way to work. Occupy activists had said they planned to bring business to a standstill on May Day, but the crowds protesting in the rain Tuesday morning were modest. The Occupy movement in New York has relied on demonstrations and marches around the city since Nov. 15, when police ousted hundreds of protesters from their base in Zuccotti Park, where they had camped since Sept. 17. Paul Browne, the police department's chief spokesman, said recently that the department was "experienced at accommodating lawful protests and responding appropriately to anyone who engages in unlawful activity, and we're prepared to do both."