Occupy Wall Street Has Cost Local Businesses Nearly $500,000

By Connor Adams Sheets | November 13 2011 1:38 PM

The Occupy Wall Street protest movement has had a major negative impact on the livelihoods of local business owners, costing them nearly $500,000 so far.

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Milk Street Café owner Marc Epstein says police barricades in front of his shop in Manhattan's financial district have decimated his revenues, leading him to lay off 21 employees and become in danger of closing his store.

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That's according to a survey of a dozen nearby store owners revealed in an explosive new report in the New York Post that shows that $479,400 has been lost due to the impacts of the #OWS protest encampment in Manhattan's financial district.

The report indicates that many business owners believe that the negative press that has dogged the occupation since it began on Sept. 17 has scared potential customers away.

We're done with them! one Broadway restaurant owner, who has seen declining revenues since the protest started, told the paper. My customers used to take food to eat in the park, but now they can't.

The business owners told the Post the impact is most detrimental on Saturdays, when Broadway is clogged with protesters.

According to the report, the 12 businesses have lost over $9,000 per day since the occupation began in Zuccotti Park.

The $9,000 figure does not include costs for items including toilet paper, cleaning supplies and repairs, the paper reported.

Marc Epstein, the owner of the Milk Street Café, told the International Business Times earlier this month that he had to lay off 21 people recently because police barricades the NYPD put in place because of the protest have restricted customer access to his business.

I never saw this coming, Epstein told IBTimes of the effects of Occupy Wall Street. If it doesn't get resolved soon, I'll be out of business.