Poised to leave RI park, Occupy declares victory

Poised to leave RI park, Occupy declares victory

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Occupy Providence is poised to voluntarily leave the public park downtown where it has been encamped for 100 days, but participants said Tuesday that they're committed to continuing to protest and reserve the right to set up their tents again.

The local offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement declared victory on the steps of City hall after city officials helped facilitate the opening of a homeless day center that the group made a condition of its departure from Burnside Park. The temporary shelter at Emmanuel House in south Providence will be run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, which operates a night-time shelter there already.

In a statement read Tuesday on the steps of City Hall, protesters said they agreed to "temporarily" suspend their occupation of the park.

"Occupy Providence is energized and committed to continue organizing, defending the right to protest and bringing awareness to economic injustices in our country," protester Sarah Quenon said.

She said later that the movement reserved the right to set up another encampment elsewhere or even to reoccupy the park.

Occupy Providence narrowly approved a proposal in December to leave the park if the city opened a homeless day center. City officials, protesters and the diocese have spent weeks discussing the possibilities and logistics of making that happen.

A spokesman for the diocese, Michael Guilfoyle, said the shelter is slated to open no later than week's end. Occupy Providence is expected to leave the park soon after that, though no timetable has been set.