Occupy L.A. leaders say city backpedaled on offer of office space
Looking for a peaceful way to end the Occupy L.A. encampment, the city offered to lease a 10,000 square foot office space in the Los Angeles Mall. The city-owned space, most recently occupied by B. Dalton Booksellers, was offered to the protesters for $1 a year lease.[Where this "farm" land was located was never specified.]
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But Occupy L.A. organizer Ryan Rice, who met with representatives from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office on Tuesday afternoon, said the city staff were unhappy after numerous news outlets, including the Daily News, published information on the lease deal.
"They didn't like the media attention," said Rice.
Additionally, he said that Deputy Chief of Staff Matt Szabo indicated that political feelings were hurt because numerous department heads hadn't yet been briefed on the Los Angeles Mall deal.
The mayor's office would not comment on the meeting Tuesday afternoon.
While the lease option may be off the table for now, Rice said the mayor's representatives remained open to working with Occupy L.A. leaders to move them to another site.
But it's unclear whether the protesters, who have been camped out at City Hall for more than two months, would accept any incentive to move.
Occupy L.A. protester Adam Adler, who has a small garden on the south lawn of City Hall, said he planned to make a counter-offer to the city.
"We demand the city give us the Hall of Justice. The entire thing," said Adler, showing off his collection of vegetables. "We can grow a garden on the roof." Source
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