By Daniel Massey
October 18, 2011
Advocates are making scenes at the restaurants and doorsteps of the rich and famous in increasingly edgy attempts to change policies or win labor disputes.
It's been a rough few weeks for the city's billionaires, bankers and corporate board members.
As the Occupy Wall Street movement has gained steam, the city's well-heeled have become the target of protests aimed at embarrassing them in their neighborhoods or places of business. Drawing on tactics honed by labor unions, the protesters have visited restaurants, theaters and luxury apartment buildings to deliver pointed messages to some of the city's most notable power brokers...
On Saturday, the Alliance for a Greater New York and Occupy Wall Street teamed up to launch occupytheboardroom.org, a website that lists the names of 200 top executives and board members from Bank of America Corp., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. “Just got evicted while your banker gets bonuses?” the site asks. “Share your special story with someone who ought to know."
Occupy the Boardroom encourages users to click on the bankers' names and send them personal letters, which are collated on the site. By Tuesday afternoon, the project had already been tweeted nearly 3,000 times and shared on more than 8,000 Facebook pages. More than 88,000 page views from 161 countries had been tallied, and more than 5,000 letters had been submitted...
Even Gawker has gotten into the act in recent days, posting the cell phone numbers of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup CEO Vikrim Pandit and urging readers to share tales of economic woe.
The protesters have drawn some criticism for singling out individuals and for interrupting New Yorkers' meals and theater experiences...
Perhaps the most colorful protests occurred last week at two of Mr. Meyer's restaurants. Protesters blew air horns at Gramercy Tavern, and at Union Square Café, an Occupy Wall Street protester tapped a glass as if preparing a toast, then began a speech criticizing Mr. Meyer for his role on the board of Sotheby's...
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