Occupy Emmaus Leads Councilman to Ask About Triangle Regs

Emmaus Borough Councilman Brent Labenberg was mildly preoccupied last night about the supporters who have been since Friday afternoon.

“I have a question about the kids on the Triangle,” Labenberg said, at Monday’s meeting. “What time does the park close?”

In response, Councilman Nathan Brown said that he had actually looked up the answer to Labenberg’s question on Monday afternoon. “I checked it today,” Brown said, “and has separate rules. They can stay there 24/7.”

Labenberg then said he is concerned about where the Occupy Emmaus supporters are standing in Triangle Park. Their location may be impacting how well drivers can see as they merge onto Main Street from the south side of the Triangle, he said.

“At times there has been six or seven of them in a row with signs and I worry about when a car comes up to the stop sign and can’t see,” Labenberg said. “I worry about an accident.”

Borough Council President Lee Ann Gilbert told to speak with the Emmaus Police Department on Tuesday morning about the issue. The police should ask the Occupy Emmaus supporters to move to a different location in Triangle Park that poses less of a potential danger to drivers, she said.

After the meeting Gilbert said that since Triangle Park is a public park, as long as the Occupy Emmaus participants don’t cause a disturbance, they can remain in the Triangle for as long as they like. There are no permits required to be there or regulations that would allow the borough to ask them to leave, she explained.