Andrew Ross Sorkin Declares Zuccotti Park Safe For Bank CEOs
As you may have heard, there are protests going on downtown, organized by a group of individuals who've got beef with the financial industry. They've gone on longer than most would've expected (with at least one promise made that no one is leaving "until Wall Street crumbles") and despite being peaceful so far (on the side of the protestors-- the NYPD, not so much), have started making some people a little nervous. Specifically, those who run the banks OccupyWallStreet takes issue with. Luckily, nobody needs to live in fear, because of three simple words: Andrew Ross Sorkin. Little known fact about ARS is that in addition to overseeing Dealbook, writing books and anchoring Squawk Box, the hardest working man in America also runs a part time private security firm. Knowing about Sorkin's side-gig, one CEO** got him on the horn last week to figure out what's what.
I had gone down to Zuccotti Park to see the activist movement firsthand after getting a call from the chief executive of a major bank last week, before nearly 700 people were arrested over the weekend during a demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge. “Is this Occupy Wall Street thing a big deal?” the C.E.O. asked me. I didn’t have an answer. “We’re trying to figure out how much we should be worried about all of this,” he continued, clearly concerned. “Is this going to turn into a personal safety problem?”
Andrew wasn't sure but knew that a job this big required he check out the scene himself, rather than sending some doe-eyed intern from his team.
As I wandered around the park, it was clear to me that most bankers probably don’t have to worry about being in imminent personal danger. This didn’t seem like a brutal group — at least not yet...As I was leaving, having spoken to scores of protesters, I noticed two of them walking over to the A.T.M. at Bank of America. As much as this group may want to get away from Wall Street and corporate America, it may be trapped by it. In the eyes of these young protesters, until they can unshackle themselves from the system — or perhaps make the system work for them — the sense of unrest is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
In sum: everyone breathe easy. For those who remain concerned, Sorkin has a trunk full of ADT security stickers you can post on the window of your office to ward off any would-be hooligans. You're all gonna be okay.
On Wall Street, A Protest Matures [Dealbook]
**No way in hell this was Lloyd, who isn't scared a few kids. You can take the boy out of the Linden Projects but you can't take the Linden Projects out of the boy!
