Short on Space, Occupy Turns to Bunk Beds

Some fear 'skyscraper' approach could stir tension
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2011 2:16 PM CST
Occupy Wall Street Short on Space in Zuccotti Park
A police officer walks by as Occupy Wall Street protesters erect a large military-style tent in Zuccotti Park in New York, Monday, Nov. 7.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Occupy Wall Street’s popularity is becoming a logistical problem. Zuccotti Park can only hold so many people, and with hundreds spending nights there in tents now, protesters are running out of space. There’s only one way to go: up. Occupiers are following the lead of Manhattan planners and installing shelters that fit more people, the Wall Street Journal reports. Army tents have already been erected; now, some protesters are looking into bunk beds.

Currently, the park houses 200 tents, some of which are home to more than a dozen protesters. The plan is “sort of like what New York did with the skyscraper,” says a medic living in the park, which stretches across two-thirds of an acre. “It will create better walkways and emergency exits.” But some are concerned about their residential futures. Bigger tents “are sturdy and more handy, but I think it's going to take away people's personal space and that will exacerbate the already rising level of tension,” says one. (More Occupy Wall Street stories.)

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