Occupy Buffalo is a peaceful protest and demonstration

Demonstration (people)

A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

 that began on October 1, 2011, in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, in Niagara Square

Niagara Square

Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed in 1804 for the then village of New Amsterdam...

, the nexus of downtown Buffalo opposite the Buffalo City Hall

Buffalo City Hall

Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York State. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32 story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones....

. It is related to the Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...

 movement that began in New York City on September 17, and calls for economic equity

Equity (economics)

Equity is the concept or idea of fairness in economics, particularly as to taxation or welfare economics. More specifically it may refer to equal life chances regardless of identity, to provide all citizens with a basic minimum of income/goods/services or to increase funds and commitment for...

, accountability among politicians and ending lobbyist

Lobbying

Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...

 influence of politicians. Protest

Protest

A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...

ers have been camping overnight in Niagara Square as part of the demonstration.

Another target of the protests has been the Steven J. Baum P.C.

Steven J. Baum P.C.

Steven J. Baum, P.C., was a law firm headquartered in Amherst, New York, United States. It was founded as Marvin R. Baum, P.C. in 1972, and remained under that name until Marvin Baum's death in 1999, after which his son Steven inherited the business and renamed it after himself...

 law firm in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst

Amherst, New York

Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...

. The largest foreclosure law firm in the state, it had been criticized by activists and lawyers for homeowners for its aggressive focus on foreclosure

Foreclosure

Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...

 without any effort to secure modifications where homeowners might be eligible, and its use of questionable robo-signed documents until a change in state court rules requiring an affirmation by the lawyer or client greatly curtailed its new filings. Baum had attracted national attention after New York Times columnist Joseph Nocera

Joseph Nocera

Joseph "Joe" Nocera is an American business journalist and author. He became a business columnist for The New York Times in April 2005. In March 2011, Nocera became a regular opinion columnist for The Times' Op-Ed page, writing on Tuesdays and Saturdays...

 published photos taken of its employees at its 2010 Halloween party, where costumes and decor ridiculed homeowners and attacked the firm's critics. A week after Occupy Buffalo picketed Baum's offices, the firm shut down due to a loss of business after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac forbade mortgage servicer

Mortgage servicer

A mortgage servicer is the company that borrowers pay their mortgage loan payments to. Mortgage servicers either purchase or retain mortgage servicing rights that allow them to collect payments from borrowers in return for a servicing fee...

s from using the firm for foreclosure actions.

Timeline

• October 1 - The first general assembly occurred.
• October 8 - The second general assembly occurred. Additionally, the first camp-out occurred.
• October 15- The third general assembly occurred.

See also

Occupy articles

• List of global Occupy protest locations
• Occupy movement
  Occupy movement
  The Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The first Occupy protest to be widely covered was Occupy Wall Street in New York City, taking place on September 17, 2011...
  
  
• Timeline of Occupy Wall Street
  Timeline of Occupy Wall Street
  The following is a timeline of Occupy Wall Street which began on Saturday, September 17, 2011 as an occupation of Wall Street, the financial district of New York City and is an ongoing demonstration....
  
  
• We are the 99%

Other Protests

• 15 October 2011 global protests
  15 October 2011 global protests
  The 15 October 2011 global protests were part of a series of protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the Spanish "Indignants", the Greek Protests and the Occupy movement. Global demonstrations were held on October 15 in more than 950 cities 82 countries. The date was chosen to coincide with the 5...
  
  
• 2011 United States public employee protests
  2011 United States public employee protests
  In February 2011, a series of public employee protests began in the United States against proposed legislation which would weaken the power of labor unions. By March, eighteen states had proposed legislation which would remove some collective bargaining powers from unions, along with another five...
  
  
• 2011 Wisconsin protests
  2011 Wisconsin protests
  The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protestors opposing the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including tea...
  
  

Related articles

• Arab Spring
  Arab Spring
  The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
  
  
• Corruption Perceptions Index
  Corruption Perceptions Index
  Since 1995, Transparency International publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index annually ranking countries "by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as "the misuse of public power for private...
  
  
• Economic inequality
  Economic inequality
  Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
  
  
• Grassroots movement
  Grassroots
  A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
  
  
• Income inequality in the United States
  Income inequality in the United States
  Income inequality in the United States of America refers to the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner in the US. Data from the United States Department of Commerce, CBO, and Internal Revenue Service indicate that income inequality among households has been increasing...
  
  
• Lobbying
  Lobbying
  Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
  
  
• Plutocracy
  Plutocracy
  Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy. The word plutocracy is derived from the Ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratos, meaning to rule or to govern.-Usage:The term plutocracy is generally...
  
  
• Tea Party protests
• Wealth inequality in the United States
  Wealth inequality in the United States
  Wealth inequality in the United States, also known as the "wealth gap", refers to the unequal distribution of financial assets among residents of the United States. Wealth includes the values of homes, automobiles, businesses, savings, and investments. Those who acquire a great deal of financial...
  
  

Further reading

• Fox, Jonathan A.; Brown David, L. (1998.) The struggle for accountability: the World Bank, NGOs, and grassroots movements. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ISBN 0-262-56117-4

External links

• Occupy Buffalo's YouTube Channel
• Occupy Buffalo photos October 8, 2011 (Flickr)
• "Occupy" photographs from around the nation from the Denver Post