October 24th - October 28th, 2011

Torch Cam Launches Friday

October 24 – It’s been 95 years since visitors have been allowed to climb up to the torch of the Statue of Liberty and appreciate the views of the city. DNA.info reports in honor of the Statue of Liberty's 125th birthday, the National Park Service is launching new webcams that will broadcast the long-restricted vistas continuously to people all over the world.

"It's like nothing you've ever seen before," said Brian Cury, CEO of EarthCam, the company that donated and installed the cameras. "You can enjoy an American icon from a vantage point that no one has really seen. It's really and truly amazing."

There will actually be five cameras available round-the-clock at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation's website starting Oct. 28.

The celebration will conclude Friday evening with a 7:45 p.m. fireworks show which, for the first time in 25 years, will feature pyrotechnics launched from Liberty Island itself.

One Retail Manager for Fulton Street Transit Center

October 25 -- The Wall Street Journal reports, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to lease all the retail space at the Fulton Street Transit Center to one company who will manage the individual leases. This approach is different from Grand Central Terminal, where the agency deals directly with retailers.

The move would put one firm in charge of filling 70,000 square feet of retail space in the three-story building. The MTA envisions big retailers taking space, along with a "grand bar" overlooking the Manhattan skyline and what it calls "destination" restaurants, similar to the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central.

The Fulton Street Transit Center, slated for completion in 2014 with a $1.4 billion price tag, would provide an underground connection between 10 subway lines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's PATH train .

Greenmarket Forced Out of Park

October 24-- The Occupy Wall Street protests have forced the Zuccotti Park farmers' market to a new location. DNA.info reports, the market will  move up to West Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place starting Tuesday.

Ken Migliorelli, whose Dutchess County Migliorelli Farm had a stand in Zuccotti Park, said sales of fresh fruits and vegetables dropped by 50 percent since the protesters set up camp in the park Sept. 17.

On Monday afternoon, Migliorelli said it was too soon to say whether the move to West Broadway would help or hurt his business.

"Maybe the foot traffic will be better there," he said. "Time will tell."

The Zuccotti Park Greenmarket will now be held Tuesdays on West Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The market's season runs through Dec. 20.

Protesters March Turns Chaotic

October 27 -- In an expression of support for the Oakland protesters, several hundred Occupy Wall Street demonstrators walked to City Hall from Zuccotti Park at 9 p.m. As the park had been closed the marchers circled around and then broke up into smaller groups.  At that point the march turned chaotic, reported NBC news.

The crowd took different directions, and some of them were seen encountering police, with at least several arrests.

The action appeared to start winding down after 11 p.m., as one large group of protesters began to walk back peacefully toward Zuccotti Park, trailed by a line of NYPD patrol cars.