This just in from Liza Bear:

New York City, March 21--This afternoon, in yet another crackdown on peaceful assembly in Union Square, the PEP (Parks Enforcement Personnel, who answer to the Parks Dept), backed up by a raft of NYPD officers, remove cardboard signs from the sidewalk and, according to several protesters, throw them into a dumpster on wheels. NB The New York Historical Museum won't be able to archive these as they did the signs from Zuccotti. This is after protesters have been told that the sidewalk or the south plaza are not subject to the same regulations as the interior of the park. {A fashion designer, however, develops an ingenious counteroffensive). Union Square, which has a long history of protest, rallies and peaceful assemblies, has been home base for many OWS activists since the night of March 17, when protesters were forcibly removed from Liberty Square, an use of force which resulted in several documented injuries and at least 73 arrests. Filmed by Squaring Off.