(PRESSTV.IR) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had ordered the Tuesday evacuation of the two-month-old encampment to be conducted at midnight to supposedly reduce the risk of confrontation in the park, and “to minimize disruption to the surrounding neighborhood,” the Associated Press reported.

The morning after the arrests, angry New Yorkers gathered in front of the New York Police Department (NYPD) demanding the unconditional release of the arrested protesters.

Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman upheld the eviction, ruling that the protesters free speech rights do not entitle them to “camp indefinitely in the privately owned park.”

The judge refused to give the protesters permission to return to the park with the tents, bedding, generators and other equipment needed to endure a cold Manhattan winter.

“This is much bigger than a square plaza in downtown Manhattan," Hans Shan, an organizer said, adding that, "You can't evict an idea whose time has come."

"What we're dedicated to is not just about occupying space. That's a tactic." Shan said.

The US Occupy movement emerged after a group of demonstrators gathered in New York's financial district on September 17 to protest against the unjust distribution of wealth in the country and the excessive influence of major corporations on US policies. The anti-corporatism protests have now spread to many cities across the United States.

JM/VG/HJL/MB